Gjerstad Church

Gjerstad Church
Gjerstad kirke
View of the church
Gjerstad Church Location in of the church Show map of Aust-Agder Gjerstad Church Location in of the church Show map of Norway
58°52′58″N 9°01′12″E / 58.8829°N 09.0201°E / 58.8829; 09.0201Coordinates: 58°52′58″N 9°01′12″E / 58.8829°N 09.0201°E / 58.8829; 09.0201
Location	Gjerstad, Aust-Agder
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Christian H. Grosch and Lars Listøl
Completed	1848
Specifications
Capacity	500
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Gjerstad
Deanery	Aust-Nedenes prosti
Diocese	Agder og Telemark

Gjerstad Church (Norwegian: Gjerstad kirke, locally: Gjerstad kjørke) is a parish church in Gjerstad municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Gjerstad. It is the main church for the Gjerstad parish which is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The white, wooden church was built in a "long church" style in 1848 by Lars Listøl using plans by the architect Christian H. Grosch. The church seats about 500 people. In 2004, the church was renovated and restored to its original look.

In the 1430s, a church named Gerikstadir Kirkje is mentioned in existing historical records. This is the first known reference to a church in Gjerstad. Historically, the parish of Gjerstad included the nearby areas of Vegårshei and Søndeled (which also included Risør. The parish was based in Søndeled from the 1100s until the 1400s when the headquarters of the parish was moved to Gjerstad. In 1745, Søndeled and Risør were separated to form their own parish.

The first church built in Gjerstad was likely around the year 1300, probably in the Mostad area, north of the present location. It is not known how long that church stood. In 1737, however, the existing church at that time was torn down and replaced by a new church building in the present-day village of Gjerstad, just north of the shores of the lake Gjerstadvatnet. By the mid-1800s, the municipal council looked at the fact that there were over 2000 residents in the parish and seats for only 389 people in the church, it was far too small. They wanted to nearby double the size of the church, so after standing for nearly 150 years, plans were begun to replace the building. The present church was constructed from 1846-1849, just north of the site of the old church. The new church was consecrate on 23 January 1848 by the Bishop Jacob von der Lippe. After the completion of the new church, the old church (located just down the hill from the new church) was torn down in the summer of 1849 and its material was sold. The cemetery south of the present church is where the old church was located.