page_title: Gjerpen Church
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Gjerpen Church / History
caption_attribution_description: Gjerpen kyrkje
context_page_description: Gjerpen Church is located at Skien in Vestfold og Telemark, Norway. The church is the main church of Gjerpen prestegjeld.
  It is one of the oldest churches in Norway; it is believed the church was consecrated 28 May 1153 and dedicated to the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The 850th anniversary was celebrated in 2003.
context_section_description: The church has a long history and is considered a national treasure. The church and its inventory is officially preserved by law as are all buildings built before the Protestant Reformation of 1537. The extended parts built after this time is also preserved. The church is a Romanesque style with a cruciform plan (Norwegian: krossplan) church after the later additions, meaning it main top section is shaped like a Latin or Greek cross. It is built with a tower over the western entrance of the church. The church was extended in 1781 and 1871.
  The church was rebuilt in 1781 and 1871. Architects have included Christian Christie and Harald Bødtker.
  During 1919-20, the church underwent extensive restoration and the interior was renewed. The new interior was designed by Emanuel Vigeland (1875-1948) including the mosaic Den bortkomne sønns hjemkomst.  Additional features included glasspaintings, pulpit, baptismal font, benches, lamps and a bronze relief that was drawn in the 1920s.
caption: Gjerpen Kirke
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2006:07:11 00:30:15", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.3.5", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1090", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7443", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2004:10:03 18:21:22", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2004:10:03 18:21:22", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "108853/16384", "EXIF ApertureValue": "162885/32768", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "118447/32768", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2048", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1360", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "512000/223", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "16000/7", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}