Old Nordre Osen Church

Old Nordre Osen Church
Nordre Osen gamle kirke
View of the church
61°18′03″N 11°45′47″E
Location	Åmot Municipality, Innlandet
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1777
Consecrated	12 October 1777
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Peder Ellingsen Rødstuen
Architectural type	Cruciform
Completed	1777 (248 years ago) (1777)
Specifications
Capacity	150
Materials	Wood
Administration
Diocese	Hamar bispedømme
Deanery	Sør-Østerdal prosti
Parish	Nordre Osen
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Automatically protected
ID	85162

Old Nordre Osen Church (Norwegian: Nordre Osen gamle kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Åmot Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Osneset. It is the church for the Nordre Osen parish which is part of the Sør-Østerdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The red, wooden church was built in a cruciform design in 1777 using plans drawn up by the architect Peder Ellingsen Rødstuen. The church seats about 150 people.^[1][2]

History

During a period of new settlement in this part of Hedmark during the late 1700s, a need for a new church in Osneset was clearly seen. A new wooden, cruciform church was built in 1777. The church has a distinctive cruciform design with unusual proportions. It has a very high ceiling in relation to its width and the transept arms are short and wide. The western cross arm is the same as the base of the tower. The eastern cross arm is the choir which has a small sacristy extension to the east. The new church was consecrated on 12 October 1777.^[3][4]

By the early 20th century, it was clear that the old church was too small for the parish. There were plans to enlarge and upgrade the building, but eventually plans were made to replace the old building. Strong opposition to this took hold in the community. People insisted that the old church be saved, so a new church was built about 75 metres (246 ft) south of the old church. When the new Nordre Osen Church opened, the old church was taken out of regular use and essentially turned into a museum. It was renamed the "Old Nordre Osen Church" and the new building retained the historic name "Nordre Osen Church". The old church is still owned by the parish and it is occasionally used for special events such as weddings and other celebrations. There is one service held in the church each year on Olsok. The church still does not have any electricity in the building. A short distance north of the church is a war memorial in memory of the battles against Sweden during the Napoleonic Wars.^[3][4]

See also

• List of churches in Hamar

References

1. "Nordre Osen gamle kirke". Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
2. "Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker" (in Norwegian). KirkeKonsulenten.no. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
3. "Nordre Osen gamle kirke". Norges-Kirker.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 27 December 2021.
4. "Nordre osen kirkested" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 27 December 2021.