| Herdla Church | |
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| Herdla kirke | |
 View of the church | |
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| 60°34′06″N4°57′02″E / 60.5682294687°N 4.95064303278°E /60.5682294687; 4.95064303278 | |
| Location | Askøy Municipality, Vestland |
| Country | Norway |
| Denomination | Church of Norway |
| Previous denomination | Catholic Church |
| Churchmanship | Evangelical Lutheran |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 12th century |
| Consecrated | 1863 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | Christian Heinrich Grosch |
| Architectural type | Long church |
| Completed | 1863 (162 years ago) (1863) |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 540 |
| Materials | Stone |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Bjørgvin bispedømme |
| Deanery | Vesthordland prosti |
| Parish | Herdla |
| Type | Church |
| Status | Not protected |
| ID | 84557 |
Herdla Church (Norwegian:Herdla kirke) is aparish church of theChurch of Norway inAskøy Municipality inVestland county,Norway. It is located on the small island ofHerdla. It is the church for the Herdlaparish which is part of theVesthordland prosti (deanery) in theDiocese of Bjørgvin. The white, stone church was built in along church design in 1863 using plans drawn up by thearchitectChristian Heinrich Grosch. The church seats about 540 people.[1][2]
The oldest existing written accounts of this church on Herdla is a letter fromPope Eugenius III in 1146 that mentions "St. Nicholas's Church on Herdla"Latin:Ecclesiam sancti Nicholai de hardle. The church was dedicated toSaint Nicholas of Myra, thepatron saint of sailors. The church had similarities withMoster Church andKinn Church, both stone churches without towers. The church belonged underMunkeliv monastery in the nearby city ofBergen. The monastery was founded byKing Øystein I Magnusson around 1110. Herdla Church began as a small stone church in simpleRomanesque style. Later, around 1300, the church was significantly rebuilt and enlarged in aGothic style with pointed arches. (It is not clear whether or not this was an extensive renovation to enlarge the building or if it was a completely new building on the same site.)[3][4][5]
Following storm damage, the church was demolished in 1861 and a larger church was built in 1863. The architectChristian Christie designed this church and a lot of the stone from the old church was reused in the construction of the new church. The new, stonelong church had anave with achoir on the east side of the nave. There was asacristy on the south side of the choir and achurch porch with a tower on the west end of the nave. The interior was restored in the autumn of 1910 under the direction ofJens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland. This church burned down in 1934, leaving only the exterior walls remaining after the fire.[3][4][5]
After the fire, the church was rebuilt on the same foundation, reusing the same exterior walls using plans by the architect Ole Halvorsen. At the same time, a newsacristy was built on the north side of the choir (to match the existing one on the south side). The newly rebuilt church wasconsecrated on 22 September 1935. The church was nicknamed the "Øygard Cathedral". The church served most of the old municipality ofHerdla which included parts of the present-day municipalities ofØygarden,Askøy, andMeland. Originally, the church had a taller, steeper roof than the present church. DuringWorld War II, the church was seriously damaged. The Germans blew up the tower and the church was used to store ammunition and it was also used as horse stalls. Under the floor, a large tunnel system was built that went across the island, including underneath much of the cemetery. During the war years, the island of Herdla was used as a large airfield and the Germans blew off the tower because they were afraid that the church tower could serve as landmark for bombers who came from Britain.[3][4][5]
After the war, the parish planned to demolish the whole church and build a new church on the same site, however, in the end, it was decided to rebuild using the old walls and foundation. The old walls were shortened by about 3.7 metres (12 ft), and a new roof and tower were constructed. Thearchitect Ole Halvorsen led the reconstruction designs again. The newly rebuilt church can seat up to 600 people. It wasconsecrated on 1 April 1951 by the BishopRagnvald Indrebø. The church has a lower tower than before, because at that time there were plans to make Herdla the main airport for the city of Bergen. However, Herdla was ultimately not chosen and they airport was built in Flesland in 1955. In May 2008, the low church tower was removed and a larger tower was built, similar to the tower that the German's blew up during World War II.[3][4][5]
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