Fjellgardane church

Fjellgardane church

On September 22, 1957, a beautiful autumn day, Hovden Chapel, a so-called long church, was consecrated by the bishop of the Diocese of Agder, Johannes Smidt. The total costs up until the summer of 1958 amounted to approximately NOK 58,000. Free timber, countless volunteer hours, and donations mean that the actual costs were likely much higher.

Most of the nearly NOK 58,000 was raised through bazaars and fundraising campaigns, which began as early as 1944, during the war. The first bazaar was held at Hovden Mountain Hotel (which burned down in 1946) and raised an incredible NOK 9,000! Nine thousand! What that corresponds to in 2018 currency is not precisely known, but it is certainly at least NOK 100,000. It was the post-war period, and economic conditions were much worse than today. It is almost unbelievable that the few people in Hovden, Bjåen, and Breive could raise so much for the church building in Hovden.

A special event connected to the bazaars must be mentioned: the “Basket Party.” A mountain farm woman who was in her twenties in 1955 recalled: “We girls prepared a basket with good food, which was then auctioned off. The men bought not only the food basket but also the girl who had made it. After the purchase, the girl who had prepared the food and the man who had placed the highest bid sat down together and enjoyed the meal.” Note: The men bidding on the baskets did not know who had made them. Although this likely only happened one year, it says a lot about how far the mountain farm people—both women and men—were willing to go to establish a consecrated house of worship.

The cemetery was officially consecrated on July 9, 1950. O. Olsen & Sons Bell Foundry in Nauen near Tønsberg supplied the bell, Olav Jeiskeli cast the foundation, and Ånund P. Tveiten did the carpentry work so that the bell tower was completed in 1951. Artist Finn Emanuel Olsen created the altarpiece (1959). Dreng Lien from Valle was responsible for the altar and altar rail, baptismal font, and pulpit. These were completed during the spring of 1959. Dr. Barstad and his wife donated a magnificent crucifix and two large candlesticks to the church in 1960. Torbjørg Bjåen simultaneously contributed a new floor runner. Else Marie Jakobsen made an antependium for the church in 1970. The mortuary house, which includes a tool room and storage, was completed in 1999.

The architect of Hovden Chapel, which was renamed Fjellgardane Church in 2002, was Torjus Bjåen.

The chain-link fence erected in the 1950s was replaced with a stone fence in the 1960s. Shipping magnate Johan G. Olsen paid the bill when heaters and lighting were installed in 1958. The same man donated a “pump organ” (Chicago Cottage Harmonium) to the congregation in 1960. The new organ was inaugurated on January 7, 1996. It has seven stops and a total of 354 pipes. The final design was developed by organ builder Nils Arne Venheim, consultant Stein Johannes Kolnes, and the Bykle parish council. The acoustics had been poor, but while the organ was being installed, the roof received proper insulation—giving the church room good acoustics. The total cost was approximately NOK 680,000.

A long series of improvements and other interventions and changes have taken place over the roughly 60 years since the official consecration in 1957. There is not enough space here to recount everything. But—and this is essential—these improvements have, for the most part, been financed by public funds, primarily Bykle Municipality. As a relatively large tourist destination, the need for a church building is clearly significant.