Medieval church The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1345, but the church was not built that year. The first church on this site was a stone church that was likely built in the early 1100s. The old church was known as the
Sancte Marie Et Sancti Olaui church because it was dedicated to
Saint Mary and
Saint Olaf, according to Bishop
Eystein Aslaksson's book from 1398. During excavations in 1901-1902, researchers revealed the original stone church had
apses and a tower. The church's rectangular
nave measured , the
choir measured , and there was a
church porch with a bell tower above that measured . The total length of the church was estimated to have been . During these excavations, several coins from the early 1100s were recovered which supports the idea that the church was first built around that time. The original stone tower was removed in 1401, but it was later replaced several times. A wooden tower was installed in 1603 after the stone tower was removed for good. After the
Reformation, the church was known as the
Sandeherred Church as it was the church for the Sandeherred parish. When the
County of Larvik was established in 1671, the Count became the church owner. On 22 July 1745, lightning struck the church and caused quite a bit of damage to the church. By the latter half of the 18th century the church was described as being in poor condition. It was also too small for the growing population. The new Count Frederik almost went bankrupt in 1805, and the King took over most of the count's estate, but not the churches. Because of this, the churches in the area fell into disrepair. 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 in
Eidsvoll later that year. In 1816, an inspection was carried out and it concluded that the church was in a poor condition and some repairs were carried out. The Count continued to have unpaid bills and an insolvent estate, so then in 1835 Frederik Wilhelm Treschow took over ownership of the church and he eventually transferred ownership of the church to the parish. Outside the church, there is a sculpture depicting priest and poet
Magnus Brostrup Landstad. The church underwent a restoration for from November 2020 to July 2021. The restoration was funded by the municipality; the
Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage; and donations from private companies, individuals, and nonprofits. ==Media gallery==