Stiklestad Church

Stiklestad Church
Stiklestad kirke
View of the church
Stiklestad Church Location in Nord-Trøndelag Stiklestad Church Location in Nord-Trøndelag
Coordinates: 63°47′49″N 11°33′36″E / 63.7969°N 11.5600°E
Location	Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag
Country	Norway
Denomination	Church of Norway
Churchmanship	Evangelical Lutheran
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Archbishop Øystein Erlendsson
Completed	1180
Specifications
Capacity	520
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Stiklestad
Deanery	Sør-Innherad
Diocese	Diocese of Nidaros

Stiklestad Church (Norwegian: Stiklestad kirke) is a parish church in the municipality of Verdal in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Stiklestad. The church is part of the Stiklestad parish in the Sør-Innherad deanery in the Diocese of Nidaros. The stone church building was completed in 1180. It was designed by Archbishop Øystein Erlendsson and it seats about 520 people.

History

The church was built at the site of the Battle of Stiklestad. During the battle, St. Olaf received three severe wounds—in the knee, in the neck, and the final mortal blow through the heart—and died leaning against a large stone. The church building is assumed to have been erected on the exact spot where St. Olaf was killed during that battle and that stone is supposedly still inside the altar of the church.^[1][2]

The Stiklestad Church is the namesake of the Stiklestad United Lutheran Church in Minnesota, United States, established by Norwegian emigrants in 1897.^[3]

Gallery

• 
  View of the church
• 
  Another view of the exterior
• 
  Front of the church (interior)
• 
  Back of the church (interior)
• 
  Altar
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  Side entrance
• 
  West entrance
• 
  Wall mural

View of the area (scroll to the right for more of the picture)

See also

• List of churches in Nord-Trøndelag

References

1. Verdal historielag. "Stiklestad kirke" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2011-07-04.
2. Store norske leksikon. "Stiklestad" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2011-07-04.
3. Harvey, Tom (September 1979). "Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form: Stiklestad Church" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-07-29.