THE CHURCHYARD AND SEPULCHRAL CHAPEL

The old churchyard to the west

For more than 700 years the people of Øyer have been brought to rest in the consecrated soil of the local graveyard. The church embraced them at baptism, followed them through life, and took care of them when their lifecycle came to an end, here they found eternal rest and returned to dust. A place like this inspires awe.

We have little information about the churchyard from before 1800. In a note from the rector to the bishop in 1735 it is said that the churchyard is in proper condition. A report from an inspection in 1739 mentions that "The churchyard is surrounded by a roofed wall, quite good and secure".

The churchyard before 1907

We know that the churchyard was enlarged in different directions altogether four times between 1821-1864. The areas added on each occasion must have been fairly small. The work was distributed between the local farms, each farm contributing labor according to its size. Those who dug brought their own equipment and shirking was fined with 60 shilling a day.

The constant enlargements of the churchyard were necessary because - according to the local council - no plans existed for the placement of graves. The church didn't have a sexton yet, relatives did the digging and used their own discretion to pick a place. In 1866 the council adopted new regulations for the local churchyards. The churchyards were to be divided into lots and the lots into rows. The church employed a sexton, who assigned burial places and supervised the digging. Still - in 1907 - another enlargement became necessary. This time the area was taken from the church green to the south of the church. The old wall was torn down and replaced by a picket fence.

The churchyard to the east

In 1911 the church authorities obtained permission to have water installed in the churchyard. A tank with a pump was built in the northeastern corner of the yard, along the wall next to the Sacristy. At the same time alleys of Siberian pea shrub were planted along the pathways.

In the period between 1949-1952 the churchyard underwent a major change. The frames of stone and concrete that had marked the burial sites were removed, with a only a few exceptions. The churchyard was leveled and sown with grass seed. A gravestone or a cross with a small patch for flowers in front became the only private means of expression. The alleys of Siberian pea shrub - or what was left of them - were removed. Most of the work was done by volunteers.

Towards the end of the 1950's the churchyard once again became too small. Only one area was available, and the churchyard was enlarged to the east and on to land belonging to the vicarage. The wall to the east of the yard was torn down and used for building a wall below the new churchyard. The enlargement added 175 are and gave room for 215 new graves. The new churchyard was consecrated by rector Kvarving on Easter Monday 1960.

Gravemonument, detail

In 1976 work was started to re-register the grave sites. Grave sites were given fixed dimensions and every second row of graves were marked with permanent markers. Graveyard regulations and grave records were worked out, and a permanent arrangement for grave management was adopted.

The next, and for the time being last, enlargement was consecrated on the fourth Sunday of Advent 1981, in 20 degrees Celsius below zero and a biting wind from north. The enlargement, which once again took place in easterly direction on land belonging to the vicarage, added 540 are and gave room for some 560 new graves .This time there was no volunteer work and no villein service, but a municipal grant financed the enlargement. In the spring of 1983 the new church yard was planted, with rowan, birch, mountain pine, Siberian cornel and garland spirea.

Old gravecrosses

Only a few old grave markers are left on the Øyer churchyard; three boards, four stones, five wrought iron crosses and a few stone slates. The boards and the stones are from the late 1700's, the crosses and the slates somewhat younger. A photography from the late 1800's or early 1900's indicates that crosses and boards were common at that time. During the first half of the 1900's it looks as though gravestones replaced the crosses and boards and by now gravestones are predominant. The last couple of decades many have found stones themselves, often in the local mountains were nature itself has created the shape and decoration.

The idea of a burial chapel and a mortuary developed in 1920's and 1930's, and some funds were collected for this purpose. WW II put a temporary stop to these plans. In the meantime the plans changed, and in the fall of 1948 a proposal to build the chapel underneath the church was approved. The building commenced in the summer of 1951. During the digging a number of human skeletons were found, not surprisingly. It is impossible to date these finds exactly, but they have to be from before 1724, maybe even from before 1629 when two naves were added to the old stave church.

Source: Historieskrift om Øyer kirke, Øyer parish council 1983