Hestad Chapel

Hestad Chapel
Hestad kapell Øyrakyrkja
View of the church
Hestad Chapel Location in Sogn og Fjordane county Show map of Sogn og Fjordane Hestad Chapel Location in Sogn og Fjordane county Show map of Norway
61°19′45″N 5°56′11″E / 61.3292°N 5.9363°E / 61.3292; 5.9363Coordinates: 61°19′45″N 5°56′11″E / 61.3292°N 5.9363°E / 61.3292; 5.9363
Location	Gaular Municipality, Sogn og Fjordane
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
Architecture
Status	Chapel
Functional status	Active
Completed	1805
Specifications
Capacity	80
Materials	Wood
Administration
Parish	Viksdalen
Deanery	Sunnfjord prosti
Diocese	Diocese of Bjørgvin

Hestad Chapel (Norwegian: Hestad kapell) is a chapel in Gaular Municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located in the village of Hestad, on a small peninsula jutting into the Hestadfjorden, a lake that is part of the river Gaula. Because of its location on a small "island"-like peninsula, the church is also known as the Øyrakyrkja ("island church"). The chapel is part of the Viksdalen parish in the Sunnfjord deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The brown, wooden church was built in 1805 and it seats about 80 people.

The chapel has a history that dates back to the Middle Ages. Legend has it that there was a church at Øyra the 12th century, but in written sources it is first mentioned in accounts from 1327. In an overview of the local church's seven properties from ca. 1350, Øyra church is mentioned as one of the five churches in Gaular. After the Black Death the church was no longer in use. Historical records show that the church was again in use by the late 16th century.

Before the road on the south side of the lake was opened in 1884, the lake was the main route of transportation through the Gaula river valley. The chapel was located in the middle of the lake, making it the perfect location. In the summer, people went boat through the strait by the chapel and in winter they sled across the lake. The old chapel was demolished in 1805 and a new one was built on the same site.