| Kvelde Church | |
| Fullname: | Kvelde kirke |
| Coordinates: | 59.1971°N 9.9677°W |
| Location: | Larvik Municipality, Vestfold |
| Country: | Norway |
| Churchmanship: | Evangelical Lutheran |
| Denomination: | Church of Norway |
| Previous Denomination: | Catholic Church |
| Diocese: | Tunsberg |
| Parish: | Kvelde |
| Status: | Parish church |
| Functional Status: | Active |
| Founded Date: | 13th century |
| Consecrated Date: | 11 Oct 1871 |
| Architect: | J.W. Nordan |
| Architectural Type: | Long church |
| Materials: | Wood |
| Capacity: | 250 |
Kvelde Church (Norwegian: Kvelde kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Larvik Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kvelde. It is the church for the Kvelde parish which is part of the Larvik prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1871 using plans drawn up by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan. The church seats about 250 people.[1] [2]
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1398, but the church was not built that year. The first church at Kvelde was a wooden stave church that was located along the shore of the river Numedalslågen, about to the north of the present site of the church. That church was likely built during the 13th century, but there is very little known about the building. In 1617, the old church was torn down and replaced with a new building. By the 19th century, the building was too small for the parish and it was no longer structurally sound (likely due to the close proximity of the building to the river banks). It was then decided to build a new church building a short distance away from the river, about to the south. The new building was designed by Jacob Wilhelm Nordan and it was built using logs donated by local farmers. The church was consecrated on 11 October 1871. The old church was torn down. The new church was a long church with a nave, chancel, and a small sacristy on the south side of the chancel. In 1930, a new sacristy was built on the north side of the chancel.[3] [4] [5]