Skåtøy Church

Skåtøy Church (or Skåtøy kirke in Norwegian) is a church on Skåtøy, an island in the skerries outside the town of Kragerø, Norway. 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 600 people. It was the most important church in the region until 1960.

This historical site is reachable by boat and recalls Kragerø's "golden days". The surrounding 500 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.

Sources and external links

• Kragerø town website (in Norwegian)
• Kragerø Fjordbåtselskap - how to get there by boat (in Norwegian)
• Kragerokirkene.no History of the church (in Norwegian)
• Kragerokirkene.no List of the largest wooden churches in Norway (in Norwegian)