Leksvik Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Indre Fosen Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Leksvik. It is the church for the Leksvik parish which is part of the Fosen prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros. The white, wooden church was built in a long church style in 1668 using plans drawn up by the architects Ole Jonsen Hindrum and Nils Olufsen. The church seats about 300 people.
History The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1533, but the church was likely built during the 12th century. The church was built on the Røstad farm in Leksvik, so historically it was known as Røstad Church. The original church was about with a choir. Around 1648, the church received a new roof and tower. Soon after in 1652-1654 a newly constructed choir and sacristy was built on the north side of the old building. In 1667, most of the church was torn down except for the relatively new choir and sacristy and a new timber-framed nave was built on the same site. At the same time, the choir roof was raised several meters higher. Therefore by 1670, the entire building had been rebuilt step by step and no more of the medieval church structure remained.
In 1814, this church served as an election church (). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly which wrote the Constitution of Norway. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet at Eidsvoll Manor later that year.
During the reconstruction in the 1860s the church lost much of its older interior furniture, but during later reconstruction efforts in the 1950s and 1960s, much of the 17th century furniture was returned. Today the church has new seating, installed in the mid-1990s. The church also contains a very rare crucifix from the Middle Ages, and the sword of Anders Solli. Legend has it that he used the sword to defend himself from the wolves that attacked and killed him in the woods around Leksvik in 1612.
Priests The following people have been priests of Leksvik Church:
1621-1648: Oluf Eriksen 1648-1957: Isak Johansen 1657-1671: Iver Olufsen 1672-1697: Søren Kristoffersen Røg 1697-1704: Peder Simonsen Hoff 1704-1716: Petter Surland 1716-1731: Andreas Nilsen Aalborg 1731-1737: Hans Pedersen Europpidan 1738-1749: Jens Danielsen Hveding 1748-1757: Andreas Berhoft 1757-1777: Hans Thode 1777-1781: Ferdinand Ulrik Fredrik Treu 1781-1784: Hans Thode 1784-1792: Morten Jelstrup 1792-1811: Hans Christopher Lund 1812-1820: Carl Reinholdt Schønheyder 1819-1824: Holger Halling Schjødt 1824-1832: Christian Bernstorff Bødtker 1833-1842: Johan Albricht Carl Dons 1843-1852: Christoffer Winther Scheen 1852-1864: Niels Andreas Bjørn 1864-1877: Bertel Langballe Hartmann 1877-1888: Carl Ludvig Møller 1888-1914: Lars Johansen Wormdahl 1915-1918: Olaf Eeg Svendsen 1918-1924: Peder Andersen Toft 1924-1932: Theodor Hesselberg 1933-1940: Lars Tangvik 1941-1952: Johan B. Rian 1952-1960: Ingvald Georg Osnes 1960-1968: Martin Andersen 1969-1977: Hugo Bruun Torbergsen 1977-1983: Atle Hopland 1983-1992: Roald Drønen 1993-2000: Birgitte Bentzrød 2000-2007: Gro Lingjærde 2008-2020: Verena Grønning 2021-present: Cato Engebretsen
See also List of churches in Nidaros
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