Vik church is a long church in wood that stands on Flatbygdi in Vik municipality. The church, which has 450 seats, was inaugurated on August 23, 1877 by Bishop Peder Hersleb Graah Birkeland. Architect Haakon Thorsen made the drawings. Vik church is the parish church for Vik parish and main church in Vik parish.
One parish - a church
When Vik church was erected, the village immediately gained a new meeting point. The two socks Hopperstad and Hove were merged. For many, it was a painful process, perhaps most for those who belonged to the main adult Hopperstad. The church struggle was to merge two parishes into one and whether to build a new, common church, or whether they should have a new church without merging the parish.
The battle started in 1870 when parish priest Jørgen Christian Andreas Grøner complained about the congestion in both Hopperstad and Hove church. The villagers thought he was exaggerating, and that the churches contained those who wanted to. But at the same time, the Diocese of the Trustees argued on trial whether or not the parish would buy and expand the Hove church. Shortly after, Grøner reported that he could no longer hold the worship service at Hopperstad Church because he was so drowsy. This happened immediately as the Hopperstad parish discussed whether they should buy parish church say from the private owners, and possibly restore and expand the church. The parish was under pressure, and within a short time both chose to release the church owners and decide on the future of the churches and parish.
Meyer created a deal
The situation this parish came into was common in many parish debts by the law of September 24, 1851, which required the churchship to hold 3/10 of the population in the parish. Many in Vik were worried about what they would lose if their socks were merged. Would they then have the same representation in the parish council and the poor commission? Would they miss one of the church singers and thus be disadvantaged by educational powers? People also looked very differently at the economy. Some thought they would come a long way from restoring and expanding the two old churches, in the city to build a new one. Others thought that new construction was by far the best financial solution. It is the parish priest Christian Ludvig Emil Meyer who has been honored for the settlement people to finally come to an end and join forces to build a new church. Meyer came to Vik in 1873, and for the first time was a keen advocate for the construction of a new church. He was renowned as a good-natured man, and had enough of that trait when, after a while, he helped resolve the church struggle.
The church
The new church, which was whitewashed both inside and outside, received large, clean windows in the ship. It was in all ways a great contrast to the old churches in the village. The tower is built over two floors and projects almost 40 meters in the weather. The countryside people were very well naked and thought they had acquired a large and beautiful church. Many farmers had done their duty when the materials were to be shipped to the construction site on Prestemoane. The loan amount for the work was equaled to those who had money to pay with. Church examiner Bendixen was on vision around 1900 and referred to the church as very light. The ceiling in the chancel and midship were flat, and the sides slightly sloping. The church had a front gallery with an extension for the organ. The interior walls were light red at the top, and light gray at the bottom, the doors and benches were yellow, the columns and jacks had brown edges, the ceiling was off-white or slightly bluish. New colors were one of many changes that occurred in connection with the great restoration in the autumn of 1961 and the spring of 1962. Kyrkja had grayscale walls and benches painted in red and red. What originated was a nearly square chorus, got a new stylish bow shape. The same made the flat ceiling in the midship and in the chancel. The berry columns were square, but during the renovation they took on a more circular shape with an imposed panel. The roof of the side ship, which was previously slanted slightly down, was straightened out, and the gallery was lowered. At the front of the ship, new stained glass windows were installed to produce the four evangelists.
Organ in 1902
Some of the special features that did not change were the pointed bow window, four on the left side of the ship. During a quarter of these, there are raudmåla fields with crushers painted in gold. At the top, the window has clover leaf motifs, but these were built in and now show more from the outside. Two of the same window windows are inserted into the west wall, and in the tower there are four. Also special are the 16 "stars" in the ceiling of the midship which give light over the church sound. The church has baptismal and priestly sacristy on the left side of the choir. To the gallery there is a rise both from outside the tower foot and inside along the wall of the church church itself. In 1893, about 400 kroner was collected in voluntary donations for the purchase of omnar, and shortly thereafter two omnas were put in place, one on the left side of the ship, about in the middle of the bench rows. At the beginning of the 1930s there was no electricity, but on cold winter days it was still not warm enough. Oil lamps were of use until 1914, when several simple electric light points were installed in the church ship. In 1927, chandeliers and lamps were installed. Kyrkja got his first organ in 1902. The committee that arranged the purchase had collected money for several years in the road. The youth team held bazaar, it was the ship to church concert with the military music, and not least many emigrant bays in America contributed money. The organ was very elaborate, and several organists came to Vik and held concerts after it was used. A new organ came into place for the 100th anniversary in 1977.
Art and fixtures
On altars are two candlesticks in brass from 1690. Supper equipment is a lime in silver, mostly from 1877, a disk and a bread box in silver stain from 1877, and a wine can in silver from 1971. The baptismal font in wood is from Hopperstad church. The baptism bar from 1932 and the baptismal cup from 1956 are both in tin. The 1905 bilet weave, which is a copy of a rug from Drangedal (1653), is made by the artist Brita Hønsi (b. 1872) from Vik. The motif is the wedding in Cana (John 2: 11-11). The main motif shows the wedding table where the bride is sitting between Mary, in conversation with Jesus, and the groom. On the left, Jesus oversees the mouthpiece, and on the right, his two wedding guests, and on the left the gambler. The picture came to the church in 1966 and hung first in the sacristy, but in 1996 it hung over the baptismal font. Here are two church bells that were both moved from the Hopperstad Church in 1877. The oldest and largest bell has the inscription "In Godtes Namen bin ich geflossen. Michel Linni zu Bergen had me the boy in 1633". The other has the inscription "Cast in Bergen by H. N. Quarme and Nils D. Berg 1827".
