Olden New Church

Olden New Church is a wooden long church built in 1934. The church was designed by Daniel J. Muri.

Quick build

Midsummer's Day 1934, the foundation stone for the church was laid. Barely half a year later, the church was ready for Christmas. The fast work shows great industriousness in the village. There was a lot of unemployment around this time, so there were more than enough young people who were happy if they could earn a few kroner on the church building. The long disagreement over whether they should build a new church or restore the old one had also worn out the patience of the village, and now they just wanted a church already.

Interior and exterior

The church has a traditional basilica shape with a raised nave and aisles. The tower is placed on a roof ridge slightly inside the ridge. The tower base has the same colors and angles as the rest of the church and has gables facing west and east. The architect, Daniel J. Muri, met resistance from the State Building Inspector who wanted the church both smaller and lower, but Muri stood his ground and closely monitored the construction process to ensure that it was built exactly as drawn.

The interior is painted dark, but the windows and large chandeliers ensure that the room remains bright. Several places in the church there are larger and smaller angels carved in wood. Arne Kinsarvik was responsible for these, well helped by local woodcarvers. These are gold-colored, like some of the other details in the church.

The altarpiece has a somewhat unique motif. The painting, made by Bjørn Smith-Hald in 1934, shows Christ as tired and facing away from the disciples as he comes out of the tomb. This contrasts with the altar text which says "He is risen". There have been discussions since 1992 about replacing the painting.

The stained glass painting from 1936 was made by glass master R. Rognaldsen and shows Christ's ascension. Above the stained glass painting there is an eye, which is a symbol of God watching over the church.

Above the entrance door there is a figure of Christ and the inscription "He who comes to me I will certainly not cast out".

The organ is from 1954 and has 18 stops.

The hurricane that almost took the church

Winter storms can be strong in Olden, and it was a southerly windstorm that brought down an almost new wooden church in 1757, on the site where the cross church stands today. In 1975, the forces of nature struck again in such a way that the entire church shook in the hurricane's gusts. It happened on the afternoon of December 21, the fourth Sunday in Advent, when the church choir had gathered to sing Christmas carols. The chandeliers in the nave began to sway, and just before the service was to start, the lights went out. Suddenly the church choir was plunged into darkness. The walls creaked, and everyone just wanted to get home safely. Since the hurricane hit from the mountains on the east side, it was impossible to get out through the main door, as the wind would fill the church room and blow off the roof. In small groups, the people left the church through a door on the west side, but the short walk to the parking lot was tough enough. Several people lost their glasses, hats, and purses. One woman brought her retirement payment to church and experienced that her purse opened and the money disappeared into the wind. After this incident, the parish decided to attach teathers to the walls of the church keeping it in place.

Information retrieved from Fylkesarkivet.