On our visit to Norddal we were lucky to be able to visit an event held in the local church. There was a live concert performed by some of the country’s finest accordionists, including Håvard Svendsrud, who is a big name in Norway. The concert was very interesting, with classical pieces from Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Mozart and other great composers. The event was in memory of the legendary midwife Jensine Grønningsæter, a lady who served the community in the late 19^th century, and whose devoted work and braveness save many lives, reaching the remote houses, when and where no one else could go.

Going back to the church, this is how I first encountered it and I was just fascinated by the beauty and atmosphere inside.  The wooden church, that still stands and is in immaculate condition, was built in 1782 and was the first octagonal church to be built in the province of Sunnmøre.

There few interesting facts about the church. Before the church we are talking about was build, another, the old stave church, once stood. It was not build on sight but in the village across the fjord called Valldal, and moved to Norddal in some time in the 1620s. Imagine this in that time with no roads and ferries!

When building the new, wooden church, parts of the old stave church were used. The interior of the church is unusually light and spacious with 400 seats. Locals say that in the begging of last century for some reason the walls and ceiling, supports and benches were painted in somber colors; however, by 1981 most of this had been stripped and the church is now been restored to its original state. Just beautiful!

The church has its own organ installed in the 1920s. On the gallery wall there are six old portraits of priests and their wives. The altarpiece includes figures, relief and leaved doors, all painted with great skill and care. The altarpiece we were told, originally came from Germany and was made some 200 years before the church was build.