Tjøme Church
Tjøme Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Færder Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the village of Tjøme. It is the church for the Tjøme parish which is part of the Tønsberg domprosti in the Diocese of Tunsberg. The stone and brick church was built in a long church design in 1867 using plans drawn up by the architect Anders Thorød. The church seats about 320 people.
History
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1398, but the church was not built that year. The church may have been built in the 13th century. It was a stone church that was dedicated to Saint Olaf. The Romanesque stone church had a rectangular nave and a smaller, narrower, rectangular choir with an internal apse at the east end of the choir.By the mid-19th century, the church had become too small for the parish and plans for a new church on the same site were made. In 1865, the old church was torn down and construction began on the new church. Some stone from the old church was re-used in the construction of the new church. The new building was designed by Anders Thorød. It had a large rectangular nave with a smaller choir to the east and a church porch and tower on the west end. The choir was flanked by vestries. The exterior of the church was built of larvikite and brick. It was consecrated by the bishop on 12 September 1867. Inside, there is a second-floor seating gallery on the west end and along the north wall of the nave. Much of the interior furnishings were transferred from the old church building into this one. The church was extensively restored in 1949–1950, again in 1991, and again in 2004–2006.