Vikebygd Church

Vikebygd Church
Vikebygd kyrkje
View of the church
Vikebygd Church Location in Rogaland county Show map of Rogaland Vikebygd Church Location in Rogaland county Show map of Norway
59°35′28″N 5°35′13″E / 59.5912°N 5.5869°E / 59.5912; 5.5869Coordinates: 59°35′28″N 5°35′13″E / 59.5912°N 5.5869°E / 59.5912; 5.5869
Location	Vindafjord, Rogaland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Torgeir Alvsaker
Completed	1937
Specifications
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Vikebygd
Deanery	Haugaland prosti
Diocese	Diocese of Stavanger

Vikebygd Church (Norwegian: Vikebygd kyrkje) is a parish church in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vikebygd. The church is part of the Vikebygd parish in the Haugaland deanery in the Diocese of Stavanger. The white, stone church was built in 1937 by the architect Torgeir Alvsaker.

The first church at Vikebygd was built in the middle ages and it was first mentioned in historical records in 1315. That church was most likely a stave church. That church was torn down in 1682 and replaced with a timber-framed church on the same site. This second church eventually needed replacing and in 1872 a new church was built near the old one. The new church consecrated on 16 October 1872 by the Bishop Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland. The old church was torn down and the materials sold off in 1873. On 16 April 1926, the church at Vikebygd burned down. The church was quickly rebuilt in a style reminiscent of the old stave churches, designed by the architect Torgeir Alvsaker. This new (4th) church was consecrated on 11 July 1928 by the Bishop Peter Hognestad. Sadly, this new church was very short-lived. A fire claimed this church on 8 December 1930, just about two and a half years after its completion. A new church was built a few years later in 1937 by the same architect, and it was consecrated by the Bishop Andreas Fleischer. This new church was built of stone, about 70 metres (230 ft) up the hill from the fjord where the old church was located.