Tromøy Church

Tromøy Church
Tromøy kirke
Tromøy Church Location in Aust-Agder
Coordinates: 58°26′59″N 8°51′51″E / 58.44972°N 8.86417°E / 58.44972; 8.86417
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Ole Nilsen Weierholt (1748)
Completed	1100–1150
Specifications
Capacity	290
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Tromøy
Deanery	Arendal
Diocese	Diocese of Agder og Telemark

Tromøy Church (Norwegian: Tromøy kirke) is a long church (Norwegian: langkirke) on the island of Tromøy, Norway. The church was built c. 1150 and was later expanded into a cruciform church in 1748. As a medieval building, it automatically has protected cultural heritage status.

The church is a medieval stone church. It is the parish church of the Parish of Tromøy in the Deanery of Arendal, and can seat 290 people.

The church stands between Hove and Brekka, on the outer shore of the island of Tromøy. Before afforestation took place in the late 1900s, the church was visible from the sea. The church was used as a landmark for navigation in the Skagerrak because it was an easily recognizable element in the outline of the coast seen by sailors. It is marked on all nautical charts, and until 1940 the National Office for Lighthouses and Coastal Safety (Statens fyr- og merkevesen) was responsible for painting the church's south walls white.

The first priest known to have served at the church was Sira Ifvar, mentioned in a court document from 1320.

As late as 1794, Tromøy Church was the parish church for Holt, which covered a much larger geographic area than Tromøy itself, and many had a long journey to church that was hazardous in winter. Since 1878 they have been separate parishes; the mainland portion of the parish of Tromøy covered an area from Strømsbu (west of Arendal) to Eydehavn, at that time part of the municipality of Austre Moland.

Tromøy Church probably originally had a rectangular layout that concluded with an apse facing east. Its walls are 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) thick. Experts that have studied the church believe that the first church was built in the old style and that it may be one of the oldest churches built in Norway. The structure's style and details suggest that it is one of the oldest existing churches in Norway today. Archaeological excavations are required for more accurate dating. In Old Norwegian the church was called Thrumu kirkja (Thrumu Church). The church was then extended and the choir was expanded to the east. This probably took place in the Middle Ages during the Gothic period, at some point between 1300 and 1400.