Tingvoll Church

Tingvoll Church
Tingvoll kyrkje
View of the church
Tingvoll Church Location in Møre og Romsdal Show map of Møre og Romsdal Tingvoll Church Tingvoll Church (Norway) Show map of Norway
Coordinates: 62°54′43″N 8°10′55″E / 62.9119°N 8.1819°E / 62.9119; 8.1819
Location	Tingvoll Municipality, Møre og Romsdal
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Founded	1150-1200
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Style	Langkirke
Specifications
Length	32 metres (105 ft)
Number of spires	1
Spire height	36 metres (118 ft)
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Tingvoll
Deanery	Indre Nordmøre
Diocese	Møre

Tingvoll Church (Norwegian: Tingvoll kyrkje) is a parish church in Tingvoll Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Tingvollvågen. The church is the main church of the Tingvoll parish, in the Indre Nordmøre deanery in the Diocese of Møre.

The church is one of the few remaining old stone churches that was built in Norway. There is some uncertainty as to when it was actually constructed, but records indicate it was between 1150 and 1200. The 800 plus year old Romanesque style Tingvoll church and the large angular farmhouse beside it, lie on a spot on the north side of the Tingvollfjorden, just outside the village of Tingvollvågen off of Norwegian National Road 70 (Rv70) . The church was built here, since during the pre-Christian era, Tingvoll was an assembly place (ting) for all of the Nordmøre region. As a consequence the church is sometimes called Nordmørsdomen, meaning the Nordmøre cathedral.

The church is 32 metres (105 ft) long and the steeple and spire (added in 1787) is 36 metres (118 ft) tall. The 1.8-metre (5 ft 11 in) thick walls have corridors inside, both on the south side and on the north side. The corridors lead to steep stairs up to the crown of the wall under the rafters and then down again with the same steep pitch. It is a mystery why they were constructed. So also a balcony outside under the gable, located above the chancel. The church is richly decorated. From the painted walls in the weaponhouse, the whitewash paintings inside the nave, to the arc ceiling in the chancel which is adorned with stars and half moons. In the chancel wall, behind the top of the altarpiece, there is a marble rock with runic inscriptions. This inscription contains a prayer and also what is believed to be the name of the constructor - Gunnar. In 1928-1929 the church underwent some restoration work.