Stranda Church


Stranda Church or Sløgstad Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Stranda Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Stranda, along the western shore of the Storfjorden. It is the church for the Stranda parish which is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti in the Diocese of Møre. The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal style in 1838 by an unknown architect.

History

The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to 1432. Not much is known of that stave church. In 1722, the church was described as being very old. On 8 January 1731, there was a large rockslide on the nearly vertical Skafjellet mountain across the Storfjorden. This rockslide fell into the fjord and caused a small tsunami to rush across the fjord and it destroyed the church which sat on the shore. A new church was built that same year, but it was built about to the northwest on higher ground. The new church had a cruciform design. The old cemetery that surrounded the old church was maintained and no new cemetery was built by the new church. In 1838, a new church was built on the site of the old church. The 1731 church was then torn down. This new church had an octagonal design and it has stood there ever since.

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