Grip_Stave_Church
Grip Stave Church
Church in Møre og Romsdal, Norway
Grip Stave Church (Norwegian: Grip stavkyrkje) is a historic parish church of the Church of Norway in Kristiansund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the now-abandoned fishing village of Grip on the small island of Grip about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) northwest of the town of Kristiansund. It is an annex church for the Kristiansund parish which is part of the Ytre Nordmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre. The white, wooden church was built in a rectangular stave church style in 1470 by an unknown architect.[1][2][3]
With only one nave that is 12 metres (39 ft) long, 6.5 metres (21 ft) wide, and 6 metres (20 ft) high, it is one of Norway's smallest churches. The priest no longer lived in the parish after the year 1635, but regularly visited the island. Grip has been an annex to the Kristiansund church parish since 1967. The church is also one of the most remote of the existing stave churches in Norway since it sits on a small island about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) off the mainland coast.[4]
Located in a now-abandoned fishing village, the church is only used in the summer season, when both summer residents and tourists attend worship services every third Sunday, led by a priest from Kristiansund.