Kinsarvik Church

Kinsarvik Church (Norwegian: Kinsarvik kyrkje) is a parish church in Ullensvang municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kinsarvik. The church is part of the Kinsarvik parish in the Hardanger og Voss deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. It is the oldest stone church in the whole Hardanger region, and at one time, it was one of the four main churches for all of Hordaland county. The present church seats about 240 people.

History

The first wooden church in all of Hardanger was built on this site around the year 1050. It was most likely a wooden church which was replaced by the present stone church around the year 1160. Remains of the previous church have been found under the present church. The foundation walls were built about 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) wide. Archaeological investigations have found that there was a fire in the church, likely around the year 1180. This was around the time when the Birkebeiners ravaged Hordaland county as they were fighting for power. The church was originally built without a choir, and the choir was built after the fire, probably in the early 13th century. High up on the west gable is window opening leading into the church attic. It is probably here they have hoisted the local ship sails and masts to store during the winters.

Kinsarvik

Kinsarvik is the administrative centre of the municipality of Ullensvang in Hordaland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of a small bay at the confluence of the Sørfjorden and Eidfjorden where they join to form the main branch of the Hardangerfjorden. The village lies along the Norwegian National Road 13 and it has a ferry port with regular routes that connect it to Utne and Kvanndal across the fjord. The 0.58-square-kilometre (140-acre) village has a population (2013) of 519, giving the village a population density of 895 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,320/sq mi).

Due to its important location along the Hardangerfjorden, Kinsarvik has been an important location since the Viking age. Kinsarvik has been the site of Kinsarvik Church since the 12th century, serving the people of the whole region. The parish of Kinsarvik was made into a municipality in 1838. Kinsarvik Municipality existed as a municipality off and on from 1838 until 1964 when it was merged into Ullensvang.

Kinsarvik (municipality)

Kinsarvik is a former municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Kinsarvik where Kinsarvik Church is located. The municipality of Kinsarvik existed two different times: from 1838 until 1869 and then again from 1913 until 1964. The municipality centered on the inner part of the Hardangerfjorden, and (originally) surrounded all of the Sørfjorden. The original Kinsarvik encompassed all of the present day municipalities of Ullensvang, Odda (except for Røldal), and a small part of Granvin. Upon its final dissolution in 1964, it covered an area of 382 square kilometres (147 sq mi).

History

The large parish of Kinsarvik (spelled Kinzervig at that time) was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The parish of Kinsarvik was centered at Kinsarvik Church and it had a parish annex: Ullensvang. In 1869, Ullensvang became the main parish, and Kinsarvik became an annex to Ullensvang (and the municipality then changed the name to Ullensvang).