Bykle Old Church

Welcome to the old church in Bykle.

The church, as you see it today, is built around 1620. But already in 1327 “Buglum ecclesia” – Bykle Church – is mentioned in the papal chronicles.

The exact age is unknown, as it normally took quite some time to register a church as far north as Norway. There may have been a church at this site as early as the 13th century.

The old church in Bykle is a jewel. It is small, but beautiful and distinctive. It seats around 120 persons.

The characteristic rose paintings from 1826 are made by Aslak A. Vasshus from Neslandsvatn in Telemark and Knut Åvoldsson Byklum.

Counsel of commerce and lawspeaker Laurits Andersen Undal donated the church bell to the congregation in 1683. It has the inscription “Si deus pro nobis, quis contra nos” which means: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The bell-ringer stands in the aisle and pulls a rope.

According to an old legend, it was “the little people” – the gnomes – who decided the location of the church. The original plan was to build it at Skarg in the northern part of the village. But during the night the gnomes floated the lumber in another direction.

In the early 17th century the church building had deteriorated so much that it could no longer be used for services. According to a letter from 1619, Bykle Church “has been desolate for some years”. The same letter recounts that the church is to be erected again and preserved at the request of the congregation and with the bishop’s permission. After completion of the work, the priest would come from Valle and hold three annual services.

Despite several major restorations in the 18th and 19th century, we can definitely say that the church in Bykle mainly dates back to 1620 – and that some of the timber is from the old church that was registered in the papal chronicles from 1327.

Only in 1989 did the church get an organ. This was a pipe organ with one manual and five voices, constructed by the Swede Nils-Oluf Berg. The unaccompanied psalms, with all their intricate variations, consequently had a longer life in Bykle than in most other places.

Welcome to the old church in Bykle, a small jewel in church history.