Fillan Church
{{short description|Church in Trøndelag, Norway}}
{{Infobox church
|name = Fillan Church
|fullname = Fillan kirke
|former name =
|image = Fillan kirke.jpg
|caption = View of the church
|website =
|coordinates = {{coord|63.607343064|08.9746928215|region:NO_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|location = Hitra Municipality, Trøndelag
|country = Norway
|churchmanship = Evangelical Lutheran
|denomination = Church of Norway
|diocese = Nidaros bispedømme
|deanery = Orkdal prosti
|parish = Hitra og Fillan
|status = Parish church
|functional status = Active
|founded date = 13th century
|consecrated date = 16 September 1789
|completed date = {{Start date and age|p=y|1789}}
|closed date =
|events =
|architect = F. Bertelsen Ødegaard
|architectural type = Cruciform
|style =
|materials = Wood
|capacity = 400
|embedded = {{Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
|embed = yes
|Type = Church
|Status = Automatically protected
|ID = 84133
}} }}
Fillan Church ({{langx|no|Fillan kirke}}) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Hitra Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Fillan on the east coast of the island of Hitra. It is one of the churches for the Hitra og Fillan parish which is part of the Orkdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros. The red, wooden church was built in a cruciform design in 1789 using plans drawn up by the architect Fredrich Bertelsen Ødegaard. The church seats about 400 people.{{Cite web |title=Fillan kirke |url=https://kirkesok.no/kirke/161700201 |publisher=Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2018-02-18}}{{Cite web |title=Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker |url=http://www.kirkekonsulenten.no/kirker.htm |publisher=KirkeKonsulenten.no |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2018-02-18}}
History
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1432, but the church was built before that time. The first church for Fillan was located at Ulvan on the island of Ulvøya and it was likely built during the 1200s, before the Black Death in Norway. The building was a wooden stave church that measured approximately {{convert|14|x|7|m}}. Records show that the wind vane blew down and had to be repaired in the 1640s, and in 1659 lightning struck the tower which also had to be repaired.{{Cite web |title=Ulvan kirkested - Fillan gamle kirkested |url=http://www.kulturminnesok.no/kulturminnesok/kulturminne/?LOK_ID=126905 |access-date=2021-07-06 |publisher=Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage |language=Norwegian}}{{Cite web |title=Fillan kirke |url=https://www.norske-kirker.net/home/trondelag/fillan-kirke/ |access-date=2021-07-06 |website=Norges-Kirker.no |language=Norwegian}}
The population on the island of Hitra greatly increased during the 17th century and towards the end of that century, it was decided to move the Fillan Church site from Ulvan to the village of Fillan on the main island of Hitra about {{convert|8|km}} to the southwest. In 1686, the old church was torn down and replaced with a new building on the same site. The church was described by the parish priest, Bang, in 1780 where he wrote that the church was old, low, narrow, and dark, and that the indoor air during the sermons was unbearable because of the many unhealthy fumes from the clothing worn by the local fishermen. In 1789, the old church was torn down and a new cruciform church was built on the same site. The new church was consecrated on 16 September 1789, which makes it the oldest existing church on the island of Hitra.{{Cite web |title=Fillan kirkested |url=http://www.kulturminnesok.no/kulturminnesok/kulturminne/?LOK_ID=84133 |access-date=2021-07-06 |publisher=Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage |language=Norwegian}}
The church got its first organ in 1923, but the current organ was built by Eystein Gangfløt in 1984. The church also has an old painting "The Vision of Christian the Fourth", which was hidden in the church attic for many years and was restored in 1927.{{Cite web |date=2016-10-30 |title=Fillan kirke |url=https://www.norske-kirker.net/home/trondelag/fillan-kirke/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=Norske kirker |language=nb-NO}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Churches in Orkdal}}
{{Authority control}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
Category:Churches in Trøndelag
Category:Cruciform churches in Norway
Category:Wooden churches in Norway
Category:18th-century Church of Norway church buildings