{{Short description|Term for some churches in Norway}} {{Politics of Norway}} An '''election church''' ({{langx|no|valgkirke}}) is a term used for approximately 300 churches in [[Norway]] that were used as polling stations during the elections to the [[Norwegian Constituent Assembly]] at Eidsvoll in 1814. This was Norway's first national elections and this assembly is the group that wrote the [[Constitution of Norway]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lie |first=Yngve |date=2014-02-22 |title=Valgkirke i 1814 |work=Aura Avis |url=https://www.auraavis.no/nyheter/valgkirke-i-1814/s/1-37-7187360 |access-date=November 25, 2018}}</ref> The churches were used because they were the natural center of public life for most places in the country, and because the [[Prestegjeld|parish]] ({{langx|no|prestegjeld}}) was the basic unit of the electoral system.
[[File:Vang valgkirke.JPG|thumb|left|Plaque commemorating the 1814 election at [[Vang Church (Hamar)|Vang Church]]]] The parish priest was the chief official in the local community, and it was usually the parish priest that administered the elections. The elections were essentially indirect elections, in which the people of each parish chose an "elector". A few days later, all the electors in the county met together at a central church in the county. At that meeting, the electors chose the representatives to send to Eidsvoll. In some small towns with only one congregation, the selection took place through direct voting. The first elections took place on a [[Buß- und Bettag|general day of prayer]] declared on Friday, February 25, 1814.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glenthøj |first=Rasmus |title=Experiences of War and Nationality in Denmark and Norway, 1807–1815 |last2=Nordhagen Ottosen |first2=Morten |page=215}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Torgerson |first=Samuel |date=January 1918 |title=Norway’s Struggle for Freedom |journal=Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota |page=121}}</ref>
Many of these churches have been lost since 1814. Some have burned down, but most of the churches that are gone were torn down and replaced by new churches. About 190 election churches are still standing and are preserved historical sites.<ref name="Hagerud">{{Cite web |last=Hagerud |first=Trond |date=2012 |title=Vinger kirke, valgkirke for Konge og Fedreland |url=http://www.ovrebyen.no/2015/11/569/ |access-date=November 26, 2018 |website=Gamle Øvrebyen vel}}</ref> On the 200th anniversary of the vote in 2014, the [[National Archives of Norway|National Archives]] and the [[Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage|Directorate for Cultural Heritage]] collaborated to label the churches with [[blue plaque]]s<ref name="Hagerud" /> and to reprint facsimiles of the documents stating the addresses and authority of these churches.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Norwegian elections|state=expanded}} {{use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
[[Category:Political history of Norway]] [[Category:1814 in Norway]] [[Category:Norwegian election churches| ]]