Sagfjord kyrkje (Sagfjord Church)
Description
In order to reach Sagfjord Church today, you turn off from the E6 at Innhavet and follow a country road past scattered settlements for about 7 km. At a bend just before the little hamlet of Karlsøy lies a church on the lower side of the road, with a grassy area in front of the church. The imposing tower faces the churchyard and the sea immediately below.
Approaching the church from the sea, the building towers majestically above the churchyard and may be seen from quite a distance. Here the church comes into its own as a collective venue for the people of this area. The sea was the main access route until after the Second World War, when the village road was built. This is why it was important for the church to be visible from the sea. It is also from this side that its location on the borderland between arable land and pasture in the village is most easily seen, as well as its northwest-southeast orientation, with the choir towards the northwest. This is a break with the traditional east-west orientation with the tower to the west.
Sagfjord Church is made up of four sections in a row. The tower is half-timbered, while the nave, choir and sacristy are made of cog-jointed timber. A steep flight of outside steps leads up to the main entrance and porch at the foot of the tower. From the porch there are steps up to the gallery and clock-tower. A centre-divided set of double doors leads from the porch and in to the rectangular nave that leads to a small, almost square-shaped choir. On the back wall of the choir, hidden behind the altar panel, is the door to a sacristy that is a still smaller square shape.
Approaching the church from the sea, the building towers majestically above the churchyard and may be seen from quite a distance. Here the church comes into its own as a collective venue for the people of this area. The sea was the main access route until after the Second World War, when the village road was built. This is why it was important for the church to be visible from the sea. It is also from this side that its location on the borderland between arable land and pasture in the village is most easily seen, as well as its northwest-southeast orientation, with the choir towards the northwest. This is a break with the traditional east-west orientation with the tower to the west.
Sagfjord Church is made up of four sections in a row. The tower is half-timbered, while the nave, choir and sacristy are made of cog-jointed timber. A steep flight of outside steps leads up to the main entrance and porch at the foot of the tower. From the porch there are steps up to the gallery and clock-tower. A centre-divided set of double doors leads from the porch and in to the rectangular nave that leads to a small, almost square-shaped choir. On the back wall of the choir, hidden behind the altar panel, is the door to a sacristy that is a still smaller square shape.
Year of construction
1885-1886
Architect
Byggmester [Builder] Mathisen
Client
Hamarøy menigheit (Hamarøy church authorities)
Building Type
Church, cultural centre
Construction System / Materials
Timber, notched log construction, half-timbering
Keywords
church
wood
log construction
half timbering
Literature
Hage, Ingebjørg, Elin Haugdal, Bodil Ruud &
Sveinulf Hegstad (eds.): Arkitektur i Nord-Norge, Bergen 2008.
Map
