Stord Church

Stord Church (Norwegian: Stord kyrkje) is a parish church in Stord municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Leirvik on the southern side of the island of Stord. The church is part of the Stord parish in the Sunnhordland deanery in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, stone church was built in 1857 and it seats about 530 people.

History

The original medieval stone Stord Church was probably built in the 14th century on the same place as the present church. The old church was small and in poor condition so it was torn down just after Pentecost in 1855. The new church was completed in 1857 and it was consecrated on 6 September of the same year. Construction was led by the architect Frederick H. Stockfleth from Bergen.

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Stord

Stord is a municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Leirvik, which is also the largest town in the municipality and the whole region of Sunnhordland. Leirvik was declared a town in 1997. Other population centres in the municipality include the large village of Sagvåg and the smaller villages of Litlabø and Grov.

General information

The parish of Stordøen was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). IN 1863, the northern district of the municipality (population: 2,313) was separated to become the new municipality of Fitjar. On 15 May 1868, the southern district of Stordøen located on the mainland (population: 900) was separated to form the new municipality of Valestrand. On 1 January 1898, the southern part of the island of Huglo (population: 117) was transferred from the neighboring municipality of Fjelberg to Stord. On 1 January 1970, the small uninhabited part of the island of Stord along the Valvatnavågen that belonged to Bømlo was transferred to Stord municipality.

Stord (island)

Stord is an island in Hordaland county, Norway. Located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, the island is part of the municipalities of Stord (southern part) and Fitjar (northern part). The largest settlements on the island are the town of Leirvik (granted town status in 1997) and the villages of Sagvåg and Fitjar.

Geography

Stord has an area of 241.2 square kilometres (93.1 sq mi) and the highest point is the 749-metre (2,457 ft) tall mountain Mehammarsåto. The island lies on the northern side of the mouth of the great Hardangerfjorden. The Selbjørnsfjorden lies on the north end of the island. On the east side of the island, the Langenuen strait separates Stord from the neighboring island of Tysnesøya. On the west side of the island, the Stokksundet strait separates Stord from the neighboring island of Bømlo. There are over 350 small islands and skerries lying off the northeastern coast. Most of the central part of the island is mountainous, leaving the islands population living mostly along the coasts. The vast majority of the population lives on the southern coastal area near the Hardangerfjorden.