Nes church ruins, dating back to around 1100, were destroyed in a fire in 1854. Situated at the headland where Glomma and Vorma converge, the church was not reconstructed due to the risk of landslides. Instead, a new Nes church was constructed a few kilometers away.
The church was established on what appeared to be a Norse sacrificial site at Disen's farm, which later became a vicarage. The site was relocated due to landslide risks and now stands approximately a kilometer away from the original ruins.
Originally, the church was a long stone structure with a narrow nave, displaying remnants of an apse in the ground. The choir underwent expansions, and the apse was removed in the 13th century, making it rectangular and slightly narrower than the nave. Subsequently, in the 14th century, it was expanded to match the ship's width.
In 1567, amidst the Nordic Seven Years' War, the church was destroyed by fire but was reconstructed sometime later.
The current ruins resemble a cruciform church, reflecting the 1697 reconstruction. It is said to have been modelled after the new Vår Frelsers church in Oslo, featuring a new baroque interior.
In 1854, the church was set ablaze by a lightning strike. Concerns arose about the unstable clay ground at the river junction, prompting the authorities to opt for constructing a new church further away from the water. Sections of the Nestangen training ground collapsed in 1737, and parts of the cemetery were affected by minor landslides in the 18th century.
Some of the church's inventory was salvaged and transferred to the new church. Notable items include the pulpit, an altarpiece crafted by Abel Schrøder d.y. in 1661, the Colstrup epitaph commemorating Provost Jens Colstrup, a candlestick gifted to his fourth wife in 1704, and an 18th-century painting of the Annunciation, all preserved in the new church. The original baptismal font was lost in the 1567 fire, but its base was later recovered and now stands in the new church. A 12th-century baptismal font from a decommissioned church in Nes parish was installed in the new church.
Following the fire, only the ruins remained until preservation efforts began in the 1920s. This was furthered by conservation work in the 1930s led by Cato Enger, and subsequent excavations carried out by Sigrid Christie and Håkon Christie in 1958.
All images in this post was captured with Pentax 645N, SMC Pentax-A 645 1:2.8/75mm lens and Ilford Delta 100 film.
