The church in Talvik, a small village just outside of Alta, holds a little bit of our family history.  A lot of Farfar’s family came from this area in Finnmark.  His great, great, great granddad, Arne Jacobsen, donated a seven stick chandelier in celebration of his seven children.

On a trip back to Tromsø we had to stop by and peek inside to see it – mind you, at four o’clock in the morning.  We saw nothing but ceiling.  Later we learnt that in 1882 there was a huge storm that blew the church away and only the bell and some interior was salvaged.

The church was built initially in 1694 in another place, was moved, added to, torn down, blown away – you name it.  It has had several restorations with the last one being in 2005.  The church building that stands now was basically built in 1883 after the chandelier-breaking storm.  With any luck, the church might have some records of the chandelier.  Maybe, if we are even luckier, a picture, drawing or even a piece.