Sortland Church has a prominent position on a hill just north of Sortland town centre. Its main axis has a north south direction and is also parallel with the sound between Langøya and Hinnøya. The church has tall stone foundations and a cruciform footprint. The vestibule, at the southern end of the church, is at the bottom of a square tower with a tall octagonal spire. The chancel is to the north. The exterior of the church is painted white.

There has been a church in Sortland since the Middle Ages and it belonged to the parish of Hadsel until 1851. However, the population in the area grew rapidly during the second half of the 19th century and the old church proved to be too small to fulfill the legal requirement of offering seats to 30% of the parishioners. The decision was made to build a church to seat 840 people. The old church was demolished in 1902 a year after the new church was consecrated. Sortland Church was designed by the architect Carl Bergstrøm from Trondheim and is clearly related to several of his other churches such as those in Skånland and Kabelvåg.

1899-1901

Carl Bergstrøm, Trondheim

Sortland kommune

Church

assembly building

Wood

log building

timber

natural stone

Church

natural stone

tower

spire