Aurland
9 villages
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A small white church above the Nærøyfjord, built by hands that rowed to services in every weather.
Built by the people who needed it
For centuries the families of Nærøydalen — in Dyrdal, Styvi, Tufte, Bakka, and the farms scattered along the fjord — belonged to the tiny church at Undredal, reached only by rowing boat or sail. In storm season the crossing could be dangerous, and by the 1830s the community had resolved to build a church of their own.
Bakka Church was consecrated on 11 May 1859, designed by the architect Christian Heinrich Grosch and built to seat roughly two hundred worshippers. The names of the local families who helped finance its construction are recorded on one of the chancel panels — a direct, lasting link to the people who raised it board by board.
The altarpiece, added in 1907, was painted by Nils Bergslien and depicts Christ at Gethsemane; its frame and woodwork were carved by the local craftsman Magnus Dagestad. A single minister, based in Vangen, still serves all four churches of the Aurland parish, holding services at Bakka roughly ten times a year — a small church, still standing watch over the fjord.