page_title: Tromøy Church
section_title: Original construction
hierarchical_section_title: Tromøy Church / History / Original construction
caption_attribution_description: Norsk bokmål: Tromøy kirke fra sjøsiden
context_page_description: Tromøy Church is a parish church in Arendal municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Brekka on the east coast of the island of Tromøy. It is one of the two churches for the Tromøy parish which is part of the Arendal prosti in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. This was the main church for the municipality of Tromøy from 1878 until its dissolution in 1992.
  The white, stone church was built around the year 1150 and over the centuries it was enlarged and expanded. In 1748, the church was converted into a cruciform design by the architect Ole Nielsen Weierholt. The church now seats about 290 people. As a medieval building, it automatically has protected cultural heritage status.
context_section_description: Most likely, Tromøy Church originally had a rectangular layout that concluded with an apse facing east. Its walls are 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) thick. Experts that have studied the church believe that the church was first built in the old style and that the structure's style and details suggest that it is one of the oldest existing churches in Norway today. Archaeological excavations are required for more accurate dating. In Old Norwegian the church was called Thrumu kirkja (Thrumu Church). The church was later extended and the choir was expanded to the east. This probably took place in the Middle Ages during the Gothic period, at some point between 1300 and 1400.
  It has also been hypothesized that Tromøy Church may have had a round west tower. Many of its reused stones have a slightly curved surface, which may indicate that they were used in the outer surface of a circular construction. It is known, for example, that Lunner Church had such a round tower.
caption: Tromøy Church seen from the south
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