The parish church in Kirkjubøur – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

Kirkjubøur’s old white-painted parish church from the Middle Ages is protected from the sea by walls. Above the parish church is the old King’s yeoman’s farm, which was built on the old episcopal residence. The ruins of the Magnus Cathedral can be seen on the far right. ÓLAVUR FREDERIKSEN, 2019

The current parish church in Kirkjubøur was built in the 13th century and is the only medieval church in the country that is still in use. Archaeological investigations under the church floor show that the church stands on the remains of older church buildings and burial sites. The rectangular building, whose external dimensions are 21.5 x 7.5 m, joins a number of Norwegian cloister churches from the same period, which are characterised by their length in relation to their width. It is built of boulders laid in skilp, which is a local lime mortar, and it is plastered and whitewashed. In the eastern half of the church, there has been a panelled choir, which was separated from the nave in the middle of the choir wall. Around 1420, an extension, a memorial chapel, was added on the north side of the church, which was to be dedicated to Bishop Erlendur. He is the Faroe Islands’ best-known Catholic bishop and held office in the period 1269‑1308. In a written source from around 1420, the bishop’s residence had plans to elevate him to the saint of the Faroe Islands. During archaeological investigations in the years 1963‑67, a bishop’s grave dating back to the 13th century was found in the church.

The church’s exposed location on the coastal slope posed a danger that it could fall into the sea due to surf and other erosion. Therefore, in 1870, a retaining wall was built between the church and the sea to ensure the church’s existence after it had been condemned in 1864. The church was altered, renovated and given a new look in 1874. In this connection, its unique church furniture was brought to a museum – first the National Museum in Copenhagen, before being moved to Tjóðsavnið in the Faroe Islands in 2002. It consists of 16 pew ends (known as the Kirkjubøur chairs), two ends for a lectern or prie-dieu and a confessional. The furniture is made of pine and dates to the early 15th century. A figure that stood in the church, and which depicts the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus on her lap, also brought to a museum. The 125 cm tall figure, which is believed to be a Western Norwegian work from the 13th century, is carved out of wood and was originally painted. When the church was restored in 1874, it was given a neo-Gothic appearance in the style of the time, both outside and inside. After the restoration in 1966‑67, it appears in a simple form, where efforts have been made to get as close to the medieval expression as possible. The altarpiece, Jesus vandrer på søen (Jesus walking on the lake), was made by the visual artist Sámal Joensen-Mikines.

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