# Sortland Church

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{{short description|Church in Nordland, Norway}}
{{Infobox church
|name               = Sortland Church
|full_name          = Sortland kirke
|former_name        = 
|image              = Sortland kyrkje cropped.jpg
|caption            = View of the church
|website            = 
|coordinates        = {{coord|68.7002884|15.4122667|region:NO_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|location           = [Sortland Municipality](/source/Sortland_Municipality), [Nordland](/source/Nordland)
|country            = [Norway](/source/Norway)
|churchmanship      = [Evangelical Lutheran](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran)
|denomination       = [Church of Norway](/source/Church_of_Norway)
|diocese            = [Sør-Hålogaland](/source/Diocese_of_S%C3%B8r-H%C3%A5logaland)
|deanery            = [Vesterålen prosti](/source/Vester%C3%A5len_prosti)
|parish             = Sortland
|status             = [Parish church](/source/Parish_church)
|functional_status  = Active
|founded            = 14th century
|consecrated        = 1901
|completed          = {{Start date and age|p=y|1901}}
|closed             = 
|events             = 
|architect          = 
|architectural_type = [Cruciform](/source/Churches_in_Norway)
|style              = [Neo-Gothic](/source/Neo-Gothic)
|materials          = Wood
|capacity           = 696
|embedded           = {{Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
|embed  = yes
|Type   = Church
|Status = Listed
|ID     = 85528
}}
}}

'''Sortland Church''' ({{langx|no|Sortland kirke}}) is a [parish church](/source/parish_church) of the [Church of Norway](/source/Church_of_Norway) in [Sortland Municipality](/source/Sortland_Municipality) in [Nordland](/source/Nordland) county, [Norway](/source/Norway). It is located in the [town of Sortland](/source/Sortland_(town)). It is one of the three churches for the Sortland [parish](/source/parish) which is part of the [Vesterålen prosti](/source/Vester%C3%A5len_prosti) ([deanery](/source/deanery)) in the [Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland](/source/Diocese_of_S%C3%B8r-H%C3%A5logaland). The white, wooden, [neo-Gothic](/source/neo-Gothic) church was built in a [cruciform](/source/Churches_in_Norway) style in 1901 using plans drawn up by the [architect](/source/architect)s [Carl Julius Bergstrøm](/source/Carl_J._Bergstr%C3%B8m) and [Karl Norum](/source/Karl_Norum). The church seats about 696 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sortland kirke |url=https://kirkesok.no/kirke/187000101 |access-date=2018-11-10 |publisher=Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker |url=http://www.kirkekonsulenten.no/kirker.htm |access-date=2018-11-10 |publisher=KirkeKonsulenten.no |language=Norwegian}}</ref>

==History==
The earliest existing historical records of this church date back to 1381, but the church was not new at that time. There have been several churches in Sortland over the centuries. The first churches in Sortland were located about {{convert|300|m}} southeast of the present-day church, closer to the fjord. Not much is known about the medieval churches in Sortland, but records show a new church was built in 1676. It was a log building in a [cruciform](/source/cruciform) design. In 1803, the church was heavily renovated.<ref name="kms">{{Cite web |title=Sortland gamle kirkested |url=http://www.kulturminnesok.no/kulturminnesok/kulturminne/?LOK_ID=57061 |access-date=2018-11-10 |publisher=[Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage](/source/Norwegian_Directorate_for_Cultural_Heritage) |language=Norwegian}}</ref>

In 1814, this church served as an [election church](/source/election_church) ({{langx|no|valgkirke}}).<ref name="lhw">{{Cite web |title=Valgkirkene |url=https://lokalhistoriewiki.no/wiki/Valgkirkene |access-date=2021-03-14 |website=LokalHistorieWiki.no |language=Norwegian}}</ref> Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 [Norwegian Constituent Assembly](/source/Norwegian_Constituent_Assembly) which wrote the [Constitution of Norway](/source/Constitution_of_Norway). This was Norway's first national elections. Each [church parish](/source/prestegjeld) 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](/source/Eidsvoll_Manor) later that year.<ref name="lhw" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Om valgene |url=http://1814.arkivverket.no/#about-elections |access-date=2021-03-14 |website=Valgene i 1814 |publisher=Arkivverket |language=Norwegian}}</ref>

By the early 1900s, the church was in poor condition. A new church site was chosen, about {{convert|300|m}} northwest of the church. The new church was completed in 1902 and it seats nearly 700 people. After the new church was completed, the old church was torn down. The site of the old church was marked with a small building with the old church [steeple](/source/steeple) and church bell on top and the area was made into a park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sortland kirkested / Sortland kirke 4 |url=http://www.kulturminnesok.no/kulturminnesok/kulturminne/?LOK_ID=85528 |access-date=2021-03-11 |publisher=[Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage](/source/Norwegian_Directorate_for_Cultural_Heritage) |language=Norwegian}}</ref>

==Media gallery==
<gallery mode="packed">
Sortland kirke.JPG
Sortland im Februar 2005.jpg
Sortland church night.jpg
46 Sortland church (5658082270).jpg
Sortland kyrkje.jpg
Sortland - no-nb digifoto 20160714 00016 NB MIT FNR 17603.jpg
</gallery>

==See also==
*[List of churches in Sør-Hålogaland](/source/List_of_churches_in_S%C3%B8r-H%C3%A5logaland)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Churches in Vesterålen}}
{{Authority control}}
{{use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}

Category:Sortland Municipality
Category:Churches in Nordland
Category:Wooden churches in Norway
Category:Cruciform churches in Norway
Category:20th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Category:Churches completed in 1902
Category:14th-century establishments in Norway
Category:Norwegian election churches

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sortland Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortland_Church) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortland_Church?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.