Provided by:
Stiftelsen Nordmøre Museum
Welcome to Giske In this audio guide you will get to know Giske's ancient history related to the surroundings around the Giske church . You can experience all this through good narrator voices with pictures and text as you approach the different places.
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You have now arrived at the historical gem that is Giske Church. Almost 900 years ago it was built as a family chapel for the Arnunge Family, who were the main branch of the mighty Giske family. The beautiful church was built in 1070 by Aagmund Torbergson. At that time, Giske was a centre of power between Trondheim and Bergen. The Chiefs in Giske were both related to the King and in contact with the top Church builders in the land. Detailed research has shown that the Church was built in the year 1135, under Pål Skofteson, the then owner of Giske. The builder was probably his son Nikolas Kuvung. Early in the 12th century there was an artisan community in Bergen with skilled craftsmen from the Rhine region of Germany. We can find their building style in Giske Church. The profiles around the original windows, the plinth around the whole church and the large stone masonary blocks in the walls, characterise the classic design techniques of these craftsmen. The majority of the walls of the Church are externally clad with marble. Many believe that most of it came from a marble quarry in Sunmøre. Although, an alternative point of view is that the marble came from Italy. Today, you can’t see very much of the marble, as the church has been covered in limestone to preserve the marble.
It is said that the owner of the Giske estate, Skofte Ågmundson, set sail on a crusade to Palestine and Byzantine with 5 longships in the year 1102. It was the first crusade from the Nordics through Gibraltar. The journey ended in tradgedy. Skofte died in Rome and all three of the sons who had accompanied him on the trip also died - his son Tord died in Sicily. This was a hard blow for the Giske family waiting back home. It is said that the crew that returned came with a message from Skofte that they should build a chapel in Giske. Local legend tells that the marble in Giske church came from exotic Italy. Is that just a fairy tale? Or could it have been the case that they transported marble and building experts back to Giske in the longships that returned, in order to fulfill Skofte’s wish to build a chapel? Nobody knows for sure. Local historians believe that the church was built in memory of the much loved father and sons, who never returned from the crusades. It was the youngest son Pål Skofteson who took over and managed the Giske estate. If it is calculated that the Church was built around 1135 then it could have been built in Pål’s lifetime.
You are now standing at the gateway that leads to the Church. The beautiful building standing in front of you is Giske Church which dates back to the Middle Ages. Giske Church is a key point on the national Coastal Pilgrim Path. Which runs from Egersund in the South to Trondheim in the North.The pilgramage tradition in Norway dates back to the Middle Ages. At that time boats were an important mode of transport. It is therfore only natural that the pilgrims’ journeys were undertaken by boat. The pilgrims arrived here in both storms and calm weather. The weather here can be terrible, as the sea comes in directly from the West. It was due to such bad weather that Colin Archer’s ship ‘Risør 2’ had to divert to Ålesund to dock during the opening of the Coastal Pilgrim Path in June 2018. The ship was on its way along the coast visiting the important key points between Stavanger and Trondheim. So of course, they should also have visited the key point of Giske Church. In Møre there are 11 Key points on the Coastal Pilgrim Path, the closest ones to Giske are Borgund and Herøy.
Now you will get to know the story of ‘Tavle-Jakob’. He was actually called Jakob Sørensøn Gieskegaard and was born in Giske in 1734. He was the gifted son of a farmer and was self taught in reading and writing. He was also a talented woodcarver. Giske church fell into disrepair at the start of the 18th century. At the time, the socially engaged Priest Hans Strøm, undertook pastoral duties on Giske. There he became acquinted with the confirmant Jakob. Hans Strøm was behind the major restoration of the church in 1756 and Jakob was given the task of creating a new interior for the Church. Jakob was 22 years old when he carved his first altarpiece, which is the altarpiece in Giske Church. In the Church, a crucifix, the pulpit, the motif on the door of the altar ring, an offertory plate and a friar’s box were all made by him. He later went on to carve a further 5 altarpieces. He carved his last when he was 83 years old and that hangs in Sandøy church. It is altarpieces or ‘altartavlene’ that he was famous for and that is why he was known as Tavle- Jakob. He was married to Johanne Olsdatter from Alnes. Jakob was 93 years old when he died on the 2nd July 1827.
Now imagine that you are standing inside the church. Most of the interior is from the 18th Century, such as the christening font, the pews and the chandelier. The local artist Jakob Sørensen Giskeødegaard carved the altarpiece with the crucifix, the pulpit and the door in the altar ring. The Altarpiece has four pictures in the middle, depicting some of the central tenets of the Christian faith . Underneath is the institution of the communion. The picture above shows the crucification. The third picture shows the resurrection and the one above that the Ascencion of Christ. From the old testemant we can find Moses and Aron, and from the new testament the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, along with their attributes. Four women symbolise the virtues of faith, hope, love and justice. The piece is from 1756 and was painted in 1801, the artist made the paint himself. The crucifix stands on the altar and is a dramatic piece with blood streaming from the nail wounds. The Pulpit is from the end of the 18th century. Seven women are placed around it. The first six symbolise, knowledge, humility, hope, love, faith, and victory in having faith in Jesus. The last is dressed in white with a lamb at her feet. The lamb symbolises Jesus and the white colour purity. Through her faith in Jesus this women is seen as pure before God. This is how the artist’s work has been interpretated. Motif on the door of the Altar ring - these are rare in Northern Europe. The motif refers to Isaiah 63, verse 3. ‘I have trodden the winepress alone’.
We are now standing next to the entrance door which is behind the choir stalls in the church, here we can find traces of the church as a pilgrimage site. Pilgramages to Giske started with a letter that arrived from Pope Clements VI in 1345. In the letter he gave 100 days of exemption from sin, for all the faithful who came here to the Church to worship on Holy days. It was usual that churches were devoted to saints at that time. Giske church was devoted to the Virgin Mary, Nicholas the Confessor and John the Evangelist. Physical traces of pilgrimages were found during restoration work at Giske Church. Under many layers of limestone, crosses were discovered carved into the marble walls. It was custom that pilgrims in the Middle Ages carved crosses into the walls and then kissed them. Assuredly as a visible sign that sins were forgiven.
You are now standing by the choir wall on the south side of the church. The marble grave, which has a glass roof over it, is called the tomb of ‘Beautiful Valborg’. The position of this grave tells us that the person interred there was either important to the church or held an important position in the local community. It is believed that it could be the builder of the church who is buried there, and that it may therefore be the tomb of Niklas Kuvung. But there is also a tale attached to this grave. The story has several variations, but it refers to Valborg who was from a rich family on Giske. She fell in love with Axel who was from a poor family. It was this difference in status that meant that they could not be together. They both took this hard, Valborg drowned in the fjord inside the island, whilst Axel died of sickness a few years later. Valborg was buried on the South side of the church where the rich folk were buried. The poor lay on the North side and that is where Axel was buried. It is said that there was a tree beside both graves and that their branches grew and intertwined over the church roof. Symbolising that they got to be together in heaven! ‘Beautiful Valborg’s’ tomb is one of 6 listed tombs in Norway.
You are now standing next to what was earlier the main entrance to the church. Have a look over the door. There you can see an old Christian symbol: Agnus Dei, which means lamb of God. The memorial stones that you can see on each side of the lamb are there to highlight the triumph of christianity over paganism. The work on the door was carried out by highly skilled professionals.
On the inside, and above the door that you are now standing next to, hangs a copy of the Crucifixion group. The original group was from the 13th century, and it is one of the foremost Norwegian wood carvings of the time. In 1848 it was moved to the Historical Museum in Bergen. During the 850 year jubilee, the church asked to have the original group back. The Museum didn’t allow it, but they gave the church a copy as a gift. It is from 1985 and is a very good copy. The Organ which stands in the Church today is from the autumn of 2000. It is a mechanical pipe organ made in Skien at the Venheim organ factory. The organ is romantic in tone and has 12 voices and one so called transmission voice. The church has had 3 different organs. Tavla-Jakob made the first pipe organ, in connection with the restoration of the church in 1756, the pipes of the organ were carved out of wood. In 1920 a German Walker organ of high quality was given as a gift by Nils. L. Giske, a resident of Giske who was emmigrating. In 1967 this was exchanged for a Vestre Organ with 7 voices. The quality of that organ was not as good, and professionals advised to replace it. This was not done until the year 2000.
On the southern wall of Giske Church, facing the sea, there is a sundial carved into one of the marble stones. A modern sundial consists of a circle split into 24, correlating to the 24 hours of the day. That division of the dial was new in the north and arrived with Chrstianity. But in the transition period between pre-christian and christian times, the dial had another kind of division. The sundial on Giske shows a division of the day’s time into 32. This means that the sundial dates from pre-christian times. The sundial has a line at each 11 ¼ degrees. However, christian time is also carved onto the dial in addition to the 32 divisions. The ‘third hour’ and ‘the ninth hour’ are drawn on. This is in accordance with the Icelandic ‘Christian Law’ which is a calculation of time relating to Spring. The Icelandic christian law expresses a compromise between the old pagan time system and the newer christian one.