due to lack of repair. By 1599, the quire was the only room left in the old church that was still usable. During the 17th century, a little wooden church was built inside the stone walls and this was used for more than 200 years. 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 in Eidsvoll later that year. The first restoration work began in 1830. The old steeple was demolished, the nave was rebuilt, and a small wooden steeple was erected on the top. In the 1920s the church was once again restored in a manner which was more similar to its original architecture. A new stone steeple was built and the interior renewed. The German occupation in World War II became dramatic for the church. German officials asserted that the high steeple was used as a landmark for Allied planes, coming in over the strait of Karmsund to drop bombs in the water. German authorities demanded the steeple be demolished. Many people were engaged in the task of saving it, and they persuaded the German military to let them camouflage the whole church with timber. This was to be done in 5 weeks, but the whole job lasted a year. The front of the church bears a couple of bullet holes. The stained glass windows were ordered for the 700th anniversary in 1950. They were the creation of by Norwegian artist Bernhard Greve (1886-1962) from Lofthus who worked mainly with stained glass, fresco, and ceramic sculpture. The windows portrayed important events in the life of Christ: baptism, passion, ascension, and resurrection. The altar, baptismal font, and pulpit were designed in the 1920s by Norwegian functionalist architect Eivind Moestue (1893-1977). The baptismal basin dates back to the 16th century. Design and architecture The pointed arches, but thick walls and no pillars, suggest an early Gothic design. The walls are composed of ordinary gray stone in thickness about . The corners and frames around the doors and windows are of steatite (soapstone) from Tolgetjønn near