Skåtøy Church

About

Skåtøy Church (or Skåtøy kirke in Norwegian) is a church on Skåtøy, an island in the skerries outside the town of Kragerø. It is also known as the Cathedral of the Skerries.
Skåtøy Church was built in 1862. It is one of the largest churches in Norway built of wood, with seats for 800 people. It was the most important church in the region until 1960.

The road of the island passes close to the Skåtøy Church. The distance to the church from the ferry port «Skåtøyroa» is 3km. You can find the ferry timetable here. 
The Skåtøy Café is located next to the Skåtøy Church. This historical site is reachable by private boat or taxi boat (the pier Kirkebrygga or Åsvikbrygga)  and recalls Kragerø's "golden days". The surrounding 495 islands were the home of farmers, fishermen, lumberjacks and sailors from the 17th century.

The architects were Schirmer and von Hanno.
The altarpiece is painted by Julie Gjessing. The motif is from the Gospel of Mark 1.35 ("Early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, went out and went to a deserted place, and prayed there") and portrayed Jesus in prayer.

The organ of this church is an ancient, venerable and well-preserved Hollenbach organ from 1888.

Some nice pictures of the Skåtøy Church you can see here.