Gildeskål community centre is comprised of an old church dating to the Middle Ages with a cemetery, the main church is from 1881 and has a vicarage. Today the Gildeskål small museum is also localized here. When the new church was completed, the previous church was shut down and stood vacant until 1962, when it was re-consecrated. The church is most renowned as the hymn writer Elias Blix's church - he was born in Gildeskål in 1836. It is also one of 7 stone churches from the Middle Ages that is preserved in Northern Norway. The majority of the church structure is from the Middle Ages, but the eastern and western gables and south wall are from later periods. In addition, the chancel choir has been restored. Following a fire in 1710, a transept almost as wide as the main nave was added to the south.

The church has a rectangular nave and a narrower nearly square-shaped choir. This type of plan can be observed in several churches dating from the Middle Ages found in Northern Norway. It has a steep pitched saddle roof that is covered with clay tiles. On the exterior, the church has limestone ashlars and today is whitewashed. The shell of the building has very few windows.

Second half of the 12th century, beginning of the 13th century

Church

Stonework

limestone

ashlars

church

stonework

limestone

ashlar

middle ages

Eilertsen, Turid Følling, To kirker - tusen års kristendom: Gildeskål kirkested, Fotefar mot nord, Bodø 1996.
Ekroll Øystein, Morten Stige, Jiri Havran: Kirker i Norge, Middelalder i stein, Oslo 2000, pp. 256-257.

Liepe, Lena, Medieval Stone Churches of Northern Norway, Tromsø 2001, pp. 26-29.