Giske

Giske church

On the south side of the Giske you'll find the only north-facing church in Norway that's built using only marble. Giske Church is a long church in romanesque styl from the middle of the 12th century. It is likely that the chapel was originally built as a private church built by the Giske family.

The church was therefore probably a farm chapel for the Giske family. On 11 June 1345, Pope Clement VI gave a letter of indulgence to the chapel at Giske. It is also mentioned that the patron saints for the chapel were the Virgin Mary and the evangelists John and Nicholas. In the letter, a 100-day indulgence is given for sins committed to those who visited the church on the days of the saints to whom the church was dedicated. This letter of indulgence resulted in the church becoming a pilgrim church from the middle of the 14th century.

In the chapel it once hung a crucifixion group from the 13th century, which is now kept in the University Museum in Bergen (Rindal and Steinsland 2001:129). The church fell into disrepair after the Reformation, and stood as a ruin for several decades. It was renovated in the 18th century, and parts of the interior, for example the altarpiece, date from this period.

The Giske Play

The Giske Play is a local theater performance with historical content that for many years have been arranged at Giske every other year. The play is performed outdoors.