Gildeskål Church

On our third week of the course, we visited the Gildeskål church in Gildeskål. This place is a Norwegian municipality with 2039 inhabitants. There are two churches. One from 1881 and the other one from 1130. The older church is one of the most important stone church in northern Norway. The church has been completely destroyed because of fire in 1711. Therefore the church had to be rebuild again completely. In 1851, a new law came into force. This said that a seat in the church should be present for at least 30% of the parishioners. Consequently, the church had to be enlarged – which was in 1881 completed. The church stands very secluded, next to the coast. The reason is that the sailors could easily reach the church by sea in those days. When we went into the church, the landscape paintings struck me, which are at the doors of the pews.

Before the pews are wooden beams mounted. These were the seats for the poor people.

The rear two pews were very uncomfortable and tightly designed. These were for the Sami people, who lived in a nearby town. 

It was allowed that man and women may sit mixed in the church, because the church was the only way to get to know the future wife or husband – the only way of socialization. Nowadays, every summer are approximately 2 to 3 weddings in the church. Inside the church one can still find the old wedding chairs. But also the new wedding chairs, which were used nowadays.

In the church is an 150 year old organ. This old church is a beautiful example how one should maintain cultural heritage of the past and that one should invest in restoration processes. Currently, little things at the church were renewed. Only if one appreciate and maintain those treasures of the past, one can inform the new generations about the past.