Åsheim: Church Sites and Local Traditions

Åsheim’s local history is shaped by a disused church site and the traditions of Kirkebakken. Nearby, Brekke has further connections to church history. The wider travel area of Gulen also offers a broader historical and landscape perspective.

Church Site and Local Tradition

Åsheim, in the parish of Brekke in the municipality of Gulen, is a disused church site. According to local tradition, a church once stood at Kirkebakken. This remains a tradition, and does not describe a confirmed surviving church.

The stones at Kirkebakken also have a cautiously worded historical interpretation. When land was cleared, stones arranged in a semicircle were found at the top of Kirkebakken, south-southwest of the houses in Åsheim. They were interpreted as possible remains of a planned but never built cemetery. Thus, at the same location, a local story about a church and a possible interpretation of the semicircular stones exist side by side.

Brekke Church Nearby

Åsheim lies on the opposite side of the Risna Fjord from the churchyard in Brekke. Nearby is Brekke Church, a wooden long church in Brekke on the Risne Fjord. It was consecrated on 19 November 1862 and is considered the third church at this site. Its 390 seats are also part of its architectural history.

The interior features tapestries by Emma Breidvik and an altarpiece painted by Anders Askevold depicting “Jesus in Gethsemane.” Together with the building’s design and year of consecration, these details reveal different aspects of church history around Brekke: both the period when the building was constructed and the artistic decoration of its interior.

Historic Roads and Bridges in Gulen

The old post road in Gulen is also part of the region’s cultural heritage. It is a cultural monument worthy of preservation, for which the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) is responsible. A few of the original bridges built between 1800 and 1806 still remain along the road.

Trangane Bridge is a stone-slab bridge with a stone railing in the municipality of Gulen. It is just under 17 metres long and 3.4 metres wide.

Gulen as a Wider Travel Area

Gulen lies between the Sognefjord and the Fensfjord and comprises 1,500 islands, islets and skerries. For travel planning, this provides an overview of the wider travel area, not a description of Åsheim. Gulen’s cultural history is also spread across several locations.

The Gulating assembly was probably founded in the 9th century. From 900 to 1300, Gulatinget was a regional Viking Age assembly site: people from western Norway met there to discuss politics, make laws and administer justice. In Flolid, the Tusenårsstaden Gulatinget features monumental artworks by Bård Breivik. Cultural trails around Gulatinget have been established in Eivindvik and Flolid and can be followed using a mobile phone or iPad.

The Gulen Fiskarbondemuseum on Byrknes, in the municipality of Gulen, presents a different subject. It documents the lives of fishing-farming families in coastal settlements. The museum’s Våningshuset was built in 1842 and shaped and furnished by the families who lived there until 1960. The house served as a home for various fishing-farming families, as a school for the island’s population, and as a prison for the notorious thief Gjest Bårdsen. The museum’s everyday and social history thus complements Gulatinget’s political history.

Getting to the Municipality of Gulen

The municipality of Gulen can be reached from Bergen by car and by scheduled ferry or boat. If you plan to take a crossing, check the timetable for your chosen mode of transport before travelling.

Discover more destinations: Gulen, Mjømna, Byrknesøy, Dalsöyra, Byrknes, Eivindvik, Brekke, Ånneland

Go to the wider travel overview: Gulen.