Valestrand Church
Valestrand kyrkje
View of the church
59°40′30″N 5°28′01″E / 59.674963901132°N 5.4668751954704°E / 59.674963901132; 5.4668751954704
Location	Sveio, Vestland
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1873
Consecrated	17 Oct 1873
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Ole Vangberg
Architectural type	Long church
Completed	1873 (151 years ago) (1873)
Specifications
Capacity	420
Materials	Wood
Administration
Diocese	Bjørgvin bispedømme
Deanery	Sunnhordland prosti
Parish	Valestrand og Førde
Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site
Type	Church
Status	Not protected
ID	85746

Valestrand Church (Norwegian: Valestrand kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sveio Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Valestrand, just south of the village of Valevåg. It is one of the churches for the Valestrand og Førde parish which is part of the Sunnhordland prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1873 using plans drawn up by the architect Ole Vangberg. The church seats about 420 people.^[1][2]

History

The Valestrand area had historically been part of the Valen Church parish. By the 1870s, that church was too small and it was decided to build a new church. It was also decided to build the new church in a more central location for the parish, so it was built about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south of the old church site. The church was built by Jacobsen and Thorsen according to drawings by Ole Vangberg. The new church was consecrated on 15 October 1873 by the Bishop Peter Hersleb Graah Birkeland. The old Valen Church was then rebuilt as a schoolhouse.^[3][4]