- Tingelstad old church
Tingelstad old church (Tingelstad gamle kirke), is a Romanesque
stone church in Gran municipality,Oppland county,Norway . Dendrochronological dating shows that parts of the timber within the church was felled between 1219-1220.The original name for this church was "St. Petri Church", although presently it is called "Tingelstad old church" ("Tingelstad gamle kirke") as it was replaced by a new church in 1866.This replacement was due to a law of 1851 which declared that at least 1/5 of a church's congregation should be able to attend its services.
The congregation also had a
stave church (Grindaker stave church), but this was demolished in 1866, again because it was too small.Interestingly, there were four other churches built of stone in proximity to each other; all located within 20 km of one another. One of these churches is gone, another is heavily rebuilt, but the last two are still standing. Those two are the
Sister Churches onGranavollen .Tingelstad old church has also at some point been rebuilt. At the west end, the gable-end is constructed of wood. In 1673 a report was made that describe the wall as "brøstefeldig" or dilapidated, necessitating reconstruction.
The
spire on the woodenbelfry dons a copy of a 12th centuryweather vane . The original vane is held in the Historical museum in Oslo. It is believed that it was once fitted to the bow of a warship. Although the church contains a few other original, medieval features such as a woodencrucifix and a stone altar, it is best known for its intact interior from the 16th and 17th century. The pulpit is from 1579 and is one of Norway's oldest. Analtar frontal from 1699 can also be found inside the church. A uniquemural from 1632 depicting theDano-Norwegian coat of arms , has been partially revealed on the interior North wall.References
# "Norges Kunsthistorie", Leif Østby, 1977
# "Hadeland Bygdebok", Dr. Anders Bugge, 1932
#Hadeland Folkemuseum
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