Meldal Church
{{short description|Church in Trøndelag, Norway}}
{{Infobox church
|name = Meldal Church
|fullname = Meldal kirke
|former name = Grøtte kirke
|image = Meldal church.jpg
|caption = View of the church
|website =
|coordinates = {{coord|63.0451|N|9.7193|E|region:NO_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|location = Orkland Municipality, Trøndelag
|country = Norway
|churchmanship = Evangelical Lutheran
|denomination = Church of Norway
|diocese = Nidaros bispedømme
|deanery = Orkdal prosti
|parish = Meldal
|status = Parish church
|functional status = Active
|founded date = 13th century
|consecrated date = 1988
|completed date = {{Start date and age|p=y|1988}}
|closed date =
|events =
|architect = John Mosand
|architectural type = Long church
|style =
|materials = Wood
|capacity = 375
|embedded = {{Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
|embed = yes
|Type = Church
|Status = Not protected
|ID = 84935
}} }}
Meldal Church ({{langx|no|Meldal kirke}}) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Orkland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Meldal. It is the church for the Meldal parish which is part of the Orkdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros. The red, concrete and wood church was built in a long church style in 1988 by the architect John Mosand. The church seats about 375 people.{{Cite web |title=Meldal kirke |url=https://kirkesok.no/kirke/163600201 |publisher=Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen |accessdate=2018-01-30}}{{Cite web |title=Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker |url=http://www.kirkekonsulenten.no/kirker.htm |publisher=KirkeKonsulenten.no |language=Norwegian |accessdate=2018-01-30}}
History
File:Meldal UBT-TO-074799 01 1.jpg
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1310, but the church was not new that year. The first church in Meldal was likely built in the 13th century and it may have been an important county church since it had been built on the Grøtte farm in Meldal which was a crown estate. The building may have been a stave church. Historically, the church was known as the Grøtte Church. The church was torn down in 1650 and replaced with a new church on the same site. The new church was built by the architect Ole Jonsen Hindrum. It was a long church made out of logs. It was consecrated on 11 October 1650.{{Cite news |title=Meldal kirkested |newspaper = Kulturminnesøk|url=http://www.kulturminnesok.no/kulturminnesok/kulturminne/?LOK_ID=84935 |access-date=2021-06-23 |publisher=Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage |language=Norwegian}}{{Cite web |title=Meldal kirke |url=https://www.norske-kirker.net/home/trondelag/meldal-kirke/ |access-date=2021-06-24 |website=Norges-Kirker.no |date=4 April 2017 |language=Norwegian}}
In 1814, this church served as an election church ({{langx|no|valgkirke}}).{{Cite web |title=Valgkirkene |url=https://lokalhistoriewiki.no/wiki/Valgkirkene |access-date=2021-06-23 |website=LokalHistorieWiki.no |language=Norwegian}}{{Cite web |title=Valgkartet |url=http://1814.arkivverket.no |access-date=2021-06-23 |website=Valgene i 1814 |publisher=Arkivverket |language=Norwegian}} Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly which wrote the Constitution of Norway. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet at Eidsvoll Manor later that year.{{Cite web |title=Om valgene |url=http://1814.arkivverket.no/#about-elections |access-date=2021-06-23 |website=Valgene i 1814 |publisher=Arkivverket |language=Norwegian}}
The church tower was rebuilt in 1838 and the new tower was somewhat shorter than the original. In 1908, the church was painted white on the outside, before it regained its original red color in a restoration led by John Tverdahl in 1930–1934.
On 16 June 1981, the old church burned to the ground. It was decided to rebuild the church using the same design from 1651, rather than building a more modern building. The plans did call for a few alterations from the original, however. The new church is slightly larger than the original. Also, it is a concrete building that is clad in wood to make it look like the original. The new church was completed in 1988.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Churches in Orkdal}}
{{Authority control}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
Category:Churches in Trøndelag
Category:Long churches in Norway
Category:Wooden churches in Norway
Category:Concrete churches in Norway
Category:20th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Category:Churches completed in 1988