The church at Frostating

According to the Frostating laws, there was already a church here at the end of the 12th century, but the present building probably dates from about 1500. It is likely that both the seal of the Frostating assembly and the law book have been kept in a chest that is still in the church today. The church is located near Tinghaugen (‘the assembly hill’) at Logtun, where the annual Frostating assembly was held every year on Saint Botolph’s Day on 17 July.
63,5809813 10,7395627
Logtunvegen 128, Frosta, 7633

Frosta, Trøndelag

Owned by the National Trust of Norway since 1903.

The church of the Frostating assembly, parish church, ruin and restoration. The location, name and function all link Logtun (‘law cluster’) church to the assembly. The present church has been dated to the late Middle Ages, about 1500. One element in this dating was a reliquary jar found in the stone altar. The reliquary jar was sealed with the seal of Archbishop Gaute Ivarsson (1475–1510), which shows that the altar was consecrated during his time in office. In addition to being a parish church, it must also have functioned as the assembly’s church. The final assembly at Frosta was held towards the end of the 16th century.

From construction to decline. In the 17th century, a lot of construction work was done and the interior was altered by putting in a pulpit and an altarpiece. The church was given a ridge turret above the western gable with a tall, slender spire of the type common in the Trøndelag region. The years 1700, 1721 and 1780 were inscribed on the weather vane, and these years refer to repairs. Frosta municipality bought the church in 1857. Two years later, it was decided that a new church would be built in the village, and the new church was completed in 1866. In 1868, the wood from Logtun church was sold at auction and the church became a ruin. The building was restored and furnished between 1935 and 1950, and as a result of voluntary efforts and funds raised from private donors, the church could be re-consecrated in 1950.

Things to do in the area: Frosta is a peninsula in the Trondheimsfjord with a beautiful cultural landscape rich in history and things to do. There is the site of the Frostating assembly with memorial stones and Tautra monastery ruins, which are also the property of the National Trust of Norway, accommodation and food at Klostergården and much, much more. Historic Trøndelag 

Sources: En reise gjennom norsk byggekunst, ed. Terje Forseth. National Trust of Norway, 1994 Frostating