Saint Thomas Church (Filefjell)
The Evangelical Lutheran Saint Thomas Church in Filefjell in the municipality of Vang in Norway , built in 1971, is located on the E16 . The structure made of concrete and wood has 150 seats. The previous building was known for ringing bells .
history
In place of the church was originally a small stave church , consecrated in 1162 by Thomas Becket , Archbishop of Canterbury . Between 1173 and 1180 Archbishop Øystein Erlendsson and King Magnus were already planning a new St. Thomas Church. The church was only used until the time of the Black Death . During the census in the 16th century, the church was repaired on the initiative of TA Bahr around 1615, when many churches across the country that had been unused for a long time were put back into service.
According to a legend from the book Sagn i Valdres by Jahn Børe Jahnsens , large crowds from all over the country flocked to the church, which was a popular destination for pilgrims . The noise during the mass had grown to such an extent that the priest in charge asked the church leadership to demolish the church. Despite protests from the priests of Vang, St. Thomas Church was demolished in 1808. The demolition resulted in the spirits of the dead persecuting those who harmed them while they were alive.
reconstruction
According to tradition, the bells now distributed across different churches in Valdres did not sound together with the other bells, which is why a re-erection of the Saint Thomas Church was planned to bring the old bells together again.
Old musicians from Valdres played various “bell melodies” ( klokkeslåtter ) on the Langeleik and Hardanger fiddle , reminding of what the bells of the old St. Thomas Church would have sounded once.
Before the Second World War, the poet and cultural champion Anders Underdal (1880–1973) started a campaign for the construction of a new St. Thomas Church. As a small child he heard the legends about the church, including the famous church bells. On lecture tours, Underdal promoted the rebuilding of the church and raised money. He performed the self-composed song "Klokkune sound over Filefjell" ("The bells rang over Filefjell"). The Nasjonal Samling included the new building in its party program. Underdal let himself be hired by Quisling's Propaganda Minister and joined the NS to continue working on this project. After the war, he lost a lot of credibility because of his Nazi membership. Finally, the reconstruction was pursued by another side, which was completed in 1971. Underdal was not present at the inauguration.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Audun Thorsen: Bjørnsons kvinner and Margit Sandemos “familiehemmelighet” . Genesis, Oslo 1999, p. 47f, ISBN 82-476-0104-4 .
Coordinates: 61 ° 10 ′ 45.7 ″ N , 8 ° 7 ′ 4.2 ″ E