Giske Church
Giske Church (Norwegian: Giske kyrkje) is a 12th-century marble parish church in Giske Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the island of Giske, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northwest of the town of Ålesund. The church is part of the Giske parish in the Nordre Sunnmøre deanery in the Diocese of Møre. The church is open for guided tours during the summer season.
Design
The church is built of white marble. The origin of the marble is unclear, but it was brought to the island by boat. Where it came from before that is unknown. Today the walls are covered by chalk on the outside and plaster on the inside, so that the marble is only visible in a few places, all on the outside. The architectural style is Norman.
The church was originally a family chapel consisting of the nave and chancel, but it has been refurbished several times over the centuries. The most extensive renovation was carried out in the 1750s (initiated by Hans Strøm and Hans Holtermann), and most of the interior today can be dated back to this renovation, carved by the local craftsman Jakob Sørensøn Giskegaard (1734–1827).
Giske
Giske is an island municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality lies north-northwest of the town of Ålesund in the traditional district of Sunnmøre. The municipal center is Valderhaugstrand. Other population centers include the villages of Roald (on Vigra island) and Alnes and Leitebakk (both on Godøy island). The municipality is part of the Ålesund Region.
General information
Giske Municipality was established on 1 January 1908 when it was separated from the large municipality of Borgund. The initial population of the new municipality was 1,708 and it included the islands of Valderøya, Godøya, and Giske. Then on 1 January 1964, the neighboring Vigra Municipality (on the island of Vigra was merged into Giske Municipality. The newly enlarged municipality had a population of 4,644.
Name
The municipality is named after the farm and island Giske (Old Norse: Gizki), since the first church (Giske Church) was built there. The name is (probably) identical with the word gizki which means "tablecloth" or "rag" (maybe because the island is small and flat).
Giske (island)
Giske is an island in Giske Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It covers an area of 2.67 square kilometers (1.03 sq mi) and had 717 residents in 2010. It is flat, with the highest point 23 meters (75 ft) above mean sea level. The island is connected by the Giske Bridge to the neighboring island of Valderøya to the east and by the Godøy Tunnel to the island of Godøy to the southwest. Giske Church, dating back to the year 1180, sits on the southern coast of the island.
The 0.75-square-kilometre (190-acre) village of Giske is the main "urban area" on the island. Giske village has a population (2013) of 735, giving the village a population density of 980 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,500/sq mi). The rest of the island's residents are spread out around the village on farms.
References
External links
Media related to Giske at Wikimedia Commons
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