Stave Churches

Most churches built in Norway before the Black Death struck in 1349-51 were stave churches. In total, there must have been around 1,000 of them, but today only 27 stave churches remain preserved in their original locations, 5 have been relocated, and two stave churches are in storage at the Folk Museum.

Two of our stave churches are actually "signed." In Torpo and Ål stave churches, rune inscriptions have been found that read: "Torolf made this church."

The oldest Norwegian churches, built in the 11th century, were a type of stave church. Their wall posts stood in holes in the ground, which caused them to deteriorate quickly. Large holes were dug, up to one and a half meters in diameter and about half a meter deep. A flat stone was placed at the bottom of the hole. A post, whose end had been charred, was then erected on this stone. Around the post, a lining of stones was placed vertically, and the soil was shoveled back and firmly packed around the outside of the stones. Both the foundation stone and the charring of the post helped delay rot from the surrounding soil.

In the 12th century, it became common to place the walls on sills above the ground. This was a significant technical improvement, and all preserved stave churches have sills. The defining feature of a stave church is that it has corner posts and wall planks resting on sills. This is called a stave wall, which gives the church type its name.

There are several types of stave churches: single-naved, triple-naved, 4-6-8-12-post designs, and those with a central mast. The simplest has only a nave and a narrower chancel, with the roof resting on the walls. Other stave churches have a tall and strong central mast supporting the roof ridge and stabilizing the walls (e.g., Nore and Uvdal). The largest and most elaborately decorated stave churches have a high central space supported by freestanding posts from the floor, with a lower ambulatory enclosing the central space (e.g., Borgund). Over time, stave churches have been expanded, modified, modernized, and adapted to meet the needs of different eras.

Stave churches are often richly decorated. The portals, in particular, feature elaborate wood carvings. Some stave churches also have wall or ceiling paintings. Originally, only the priest could read, and the congregation stood in semi-darkness and listened. Later, after the Reformation in 1537, pulpits and benches were added to most stave churches so that people could sit. The long sermons made this necessary, and windows were installed so that people could follow along in the Bible and hymnbook.

In modern times, efforts have been made to restore stave churches to their original state, but it has not always been easy to reconstruct them.

In many ways, stave churches received their death blow in 1851, when a law was passed requiring rural (stave) churches to have seating for 30% of their parishioners. Expanding stave churches was often difficult, and they were old, dark, and cold. As a result, people often chose to demolish the old stave church and build a new, larger one next to it. This is why several stave churches were torn down between 1851 and 1890. Fortunately, many recognized the value of these old stave churches and worked seriously to preserve them.

Below is an alphabetical list of all original preserved stave churches and some that are partially preserved.

BORGUND STAVE CHURCH

Located in Lærdal, Sogn. Built slightly before 1150 and dedicated to the apostle Andrew. The church is one of the best-preserved stave churches and has never been rebuilt or expanded. Both the roof and walls are clad with wooden shingles. There are galleries surrounding the entire church. The pulpit dates from the late 1500s, and the altarpiece is from 1620. The bell tower is from the Middle Ages and is the only one of its kind in Norway. The church was first mentioned around 1330.

On the walls of the church, several rune inscriptions can be found. Two of these are dated to the mid-1100s. One reads: "Tor carved these runes on the evening of St. Olaf’s Mass," and the other reads: "Ave Maria."

Borgund Stave Church has served as a model for the restoration of several other stave churches, such as Fortun and Gol. The route to Sverresstigen and the royal road to Western Norway passed by

Borgund Stave Church, and in 1023, Saint Olaf traveled this way to convert the people of Valdres to Christianity.

EIDSBORG STAVE CHURCH

Located in Lårdal, Telemark. The stave church has a roof, posts, and walls completely clad in wooden shingles. Many folk legends exist about this church. Eidsborg Stave Church was likely built in the early 1200s and was dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari, the patron saint of travelers. A small wooden sculpture of St. Nicholas was carried in a procession around a nearby lake each year on Midsummer's Eve (St. John's Day). The figure was bathed in the lake for absolution of sins and to ensure a good year. During a 1929 restoration, painted figures and ornaments from the 1600s were uncovered.

FANTOFT STAVE CHURCH (REBUILT IN 1997)

Originally from Fortun in Sogn, the church was purchased by consul F. Gade in the 1880s and moved, restored, and rebuilt on his property, where it was destroyed by fire in 1994. The oldest door of the church had a small wrought iron fitting with a green stone, possibly a relic, now known as the "Wish Stone." Outside the church stands a stone cross from the introduction of Christianity around the year 1000.

FLESBERG STAVE CHURCH

Located in Buskerud, Numedal. Probably built in the late 1100s. Converted into a cruciform church in 1735. The fence around the stave church is made of large stone slabs buried vertically in the sand. Not much remains of the original stave church. Inside the church, there is a painting from 1701. The roof was most likely originally shingled. The church is first mentioned in written records in 1359.

FÅVANG CRUCIFORM CHURCH (WITH MATERIALS FROM STAVE CHURCHES)

Located in Fåvang, Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland. The church was built around 1630 using materials from older stave churches. The chancel screen was carved by a local craftsman in the 1700s.

GARMO STAVE CHURCH (RELOCATED TO MAIHAUGEN)

Originally from Garmo in Lom, Oppland. The stave church is of an older type and was built in the 1100s or 1200s (Anders Sandvik suggested it dated back to the time of Saint Olaf, 1020-1030, but this is unlikely). Reconstructed at "De Sandvigske Samlinger," Maihaugen, Lillehammer, in 1921. The church has been reconstructed, and its exact original form is uncertain, as it may consist of materials from several churches and buildings in Gudbrandsdalen, purchased by collector Anders Sandvik. The furnishings also come from various churches—the pulpit is from Romsdal, while the rest of the furnishings date from the 1600s and 1700s.

GOL STAVE CHURCH (IN OSLO)

Originally from Gol, Hallingdal. Built around 1200, with stave construction as the supporting element.

Dismantled and moved from Hallingdal in the 1880s to Bygdøy Royal Estate. Now part of the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Bygdøy, Oslo. The church was reconstructed with new galleries and a new roof turret, based largely on Borgund Stave Church.

A replica of the original stave church was built in Gol and consecrated in 1994.

Grip stave church

GRIP STAVE CHURCH

Grip Stave Church stands on the island of Grip in Nordmøre, 15 kilometers across open sea, outside Kristiansund, and was likely built in 1470. It is a single-nave stave church and is among Norway’s simplest and smallest stave churches. The chancel and nave are of the same width. The altarpiece dates back to 1520 and was made in the Netherlands. In 1629, the church was restored and rebuilt. In the 17th century, it received decorations and inscriptions.

The church was restored again between 1860 and 1870, receiving new windows with an interior panel painted white. In 1933, the interior panel was completely removed, and the exterior partially. The interior was restored to its original style as much as possible. Externally, the walls were covered with rough paneling, asphalt paper, and boarding, treated with tar, oil, and a reddish-brown pigment called "dodenknop."

Grip Stave Church is placed at the highest point of the stormy island of Grip (8 meters above sea level), located in the open sea off Nordmøre. The island was mainly inhabited by poor fishing and pilot families. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the altarpiece contains a figure of St. Margaret, who protects against storms and watches over seafarers. In 1796, most of the houses on the island were blown into the sea during a storm, but the church remained standing.

Today, the island is completely abandoned by permanent residents, but church services are held in Grip Stave Church twice during the summer months.

HALTÅLEN / HALTDALEN STAVE CHURCH IN TRONDHEIM

Moved to Sverresborg Museum, Trøndelag Folk Museum, in the late 1940s. After its relocation, it became the northernmost placed stave church in the country and is believed to date from around the 1170s. It is the only preserved stave church of the East Scandinavian type. The church is a simple single-nave type that was common in Trøndelag and Sweden and measures only 5 x 6 meters. It is first mentioned in written sources in 1345. The church gives us insight into medieval masses.

The congregation had to stand, as there were no seating benches, and the church had no windows. The chancel was only illuminated by candlelight. There was also no heating in the church. The name Haltålen or Halåldalen Church is often seen, likely because the church was repaired with parts from Ålen Stave Church.

In 2003, the Norwegian people gifted a replica of the stave church to Iceland for its millennium anniversary: Heimaey Stave Church on Vestmannaeyjar. Another replica was built in Haltdalen, called the New Haltdalen Stave Church, which was consecrated in 2004.

HEDAL STAVE CHURCH

Located in Valdres, Oppland. The church is first mentioned in 1327. It was built in the late 1100s but was expanded into a cruciform church in 1629 with several later extensions. In the sacristy, the skin of a bear is kept, which, according to legend, was shot in front of the altar when the church was rediscovered after the Black Death. The church is also called Hedalen Stave Church.

HEDDAL STAVE CHURCH

Heddal Stave Church is located near Notodden in Telemark. The church was built around 1250, as runes on the church wall are interpreted to indicate that it was consecrated on October 25, 1242. The church is mentioned in written sources in the late 1300s.

Heddal Stave Church is the largest of the preserved stave churches, measuring 20 meters in length and 26 meters in height, and is one of the most beautiful and well-maintained. The entire church is clad in wooden shingles. It was restored and rebuilt between 1849 and 1851 and was brought back to its original appearance in the 1950s.

HEGGE STAVE CHURCH

Located in Øystre Slidre, Valdres, Oppland. The church was first mentioned in 1327, but it is at least 100 years older and is said to be built from materials from two earlier churches. Large-dimension timber has been used, and in the tower, some of the original floor planks from the 1200s remain—50 cm wide and 10 cm thick.

The entrance portal has magnificent carvings, similar to those found on Gol Stave Church. The door itself is carved from a plank 82 cm wide. Hegge Stave Church follows the basilica type, with eight supporting columns. The altarpiece was carved by a local folk artist in 1780. The bell tower is unique, as its axles are oval, which produces varying tones.

HOPPERSTAD STAVE CHURCH

Hopperstad stave churchVik in Sogn. The church dates from around 1150. The church contains the best-preserved altar ciborium, which is richly decorated and probably from the first half of the 14th century. It belongs to the three-nave stave church type and has Gothic pictorial decoration.

The church has been extensively rebuilt and was restored in the 1880s. Architect Peter Blix bought the church in 1882 to avoid the church being demolished.

HØRE STAVE CHURCH

Ryfoss in Valdres, Oppland. Høre stave church is a columned church with four corner stave, choir, aspis and nave. It was built around 1180 and rebuilt around 1820. The cemetery gate, which is the church's original roof truss, has fine carvings.

As is often the case, the standing Høre stave church is the second on the same site. During archaeological excavations in 1979, buried posts from a small church from around 1100 were found, which was probably demolished due to rot. There has also been a burial ground on the site from earlier times.

The stave church is richly decorated with medieval woodcarvings, including dragons and lions. In the armory there is a portal with a distinctive wrought iron fitting and a brass base plate from the Middle Ages.

These fittings are similar to those in Hedalen, Reinli, Lomen and the churches in Sogn, which shows a clear connection between these churches.

Among the grave finds under the stave church, traces of child burials and abortion packages can be mentioned. In one grave, coins minted during the time of Magnus the Good (1042-1047) have also been found. Coins from the time of King Valdemar (1154-1182) and coins from the time of King Sverre (1177-1202) have also been found in the area.

A runic inscription is carved into the stave inside the pulpit and reads: "The summer when the brothers Elling and Audun had (trees) cut for this church, Erling Jarl fell in Nidaros". In the year 1179, Erling Skakke fell in the battle at Kalvskinnet.

HYLESTAD STAVE CHURCH (DESTRUCTED)

From Setesdal. The church has been demolished and the portal is in the University Antiquities Collection, Historical Museum in Oslo.

HØYJORD STAVECHURCH

Andebu municipality. Vestfold's only preserved stave church. It was built in two periods; the choir in Romanesque style in the late 12th century, the nave in Gothic style from the late 13th century. It was restored in 1948.

The church is one of two stave churches in Norway that has a central pillar. Originally, the church had an earthen floor, with some pallets along the walls. Here the old and infirm could sit, the rest stood during the mass. Today there are 150 seats in the church

The church has 12 supporting pillars or staves, all different, and a central pillar. The church has been richly decorated. Old decorations that have been decipherable have been refreshed by Finn Kraft.

8-10 clearly visible dedication crosses are from when the church was new. On the north wall there is a drawing of a Hansa Kogg from about the 14th-15th century. The wood carving on the altarpiece is in the Jarlsberg Renaissance from the 1630s-40s.

The altarpieces we see today, "The Crucifixion" and "The Ascension", were painted by Finn Kraft in 1960. The pictures are painted on a plate that is placed on top of the old Renaissance paintings (two "colorful pictures with large, bulky figures").

The pulpit is from 1848, and is painted by Hans Andersen Sjue. The wooden baptismal font is from 1782, with a brass basin from 1683. Among the church's treasures are: A bronze weather vane from before 1290.

KAUPANGER STAVE CHURCH

Kaupanger Stave ChurchThe church is located in Kaupanger in Sogn. The church was built in about 1180. It is one of the largest stave churches in Sogn and has free-standing stave columns that support the roof over the central space. The roof of the nave was renewed in the 1600s. At that time, the church received its altarpiece, pulpit and its two richly carved and painted epitaphs.

Kaupanger Stave Church has been rebuilt many times over the years, and the stave church received its current appearance during the restoration in 1969. At that time, the painted vine decorations on the walls from the 1600s were also restored.

Kaupang means trading place and the marketplace was large and widely used where it was located on the road between the coast and the inland villages. Excavations have been made under the church and these show that there have been two buildings on the same site before the current church. Both buildings had earthen pillars and walls, and it is assumed that they were churches.

It is assumed that the youngest of these churches burned around the year 1200 and the fire is connected to an account in King Sverre's Saga. One of the king's bailiffs had been killed, and King Sverre punished the farmers by burning their farms. The church was probably burned on the same occasion in the year 1184.

KVERNES STAVE CHURCH

Kvernes stave church is located in Nordmøre, on Averøy between Molde and Kristiansund. New research in 2020 revealed that the church was built in 1633, not the end of the 14th century, as it was previously dated. This makes Kvernes something very special: the country's only stave church built after the Middle Ages.

Kvernes stave church is single-nave with two intermediate stave in each long wall and corner stave. The altarpiece in the church is late medieval and of the triptych type, that is, in three parts, a center and two side wings, probably from Germany or Holland and dates from about 1475.

In 1633 the choir was demolished and a new one in timber was built across the width of the nave. The nave has an entrance from the south, as opposed to the former from the west. In 1776 a gallery was built and in 1810 the current tower was built. The church was first mentioned in writing in 1432 in Aslak Bolt's Jordebok.

In 1894 the Kvernes Stave Church was purchased by the Norwegian Historical Monuments Association. Along the south wall, rafters, i.e. slanted support beams, have been erected. The fact that the church is equipped with rafters is certainly no coincidence. In 1992 the storm was so strong that the baptistery was torn loose from the church and the rafters on the south wall had been uprooted and stood sprawling in the air.

People have come to Kvernes since time immemorial to worship their gods and bury their dead. The sanctuary was located high and freely visible to all who came in from the fjords or from the island kingdoms out at sea. It is assumed that the area around the church had great importance as a religious and cultural gathering place in pre-Christian times. A white phallus stone, a sacred fertility symbol, has been found as evidence of this. But one day they turned their backs on Odin, tore down the skull and built a house of worship for the new god, Hvite Krist.

Of the seventeen stave churches on Møre in the Middle Ages, only two now remain, Grip and Kvernes.

LOM STAVE CHURCH

The church is located in Lom in Nord-Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland. The church dates from around 1200 and consisted of a nave, choir and apse, until transepts and roof rafters were added in the 1660s. The church has many dragon heads on the outside, and dragon drawings on the inside. The interior is characterized by the strong stave beams that support the high central space of the nave and which are braced by the St. Andrew's crosses.

The church was restored in 1933. During the restoration of the church, a large number of old coins were found. Half of the coins were Norwegian, the rest were German, Swedish and Danish. Many of the coins were from the latter half of the 12th century, and several coins were from the 13th century. 6 coins were also found from the middle of the 11th century, but these coins are assumed to have been in the ground before the current church was built. There is evidence that an earlier church building stood on the same site as the current Lom Stave Church.

LOMEN STAVE CHURCH

Vestre Slidre, Valdres in Oppland. The church was built at the end of the 12th century. It is a basilica type with 4 supporting columns, the exterior was paneled in the post-Reformation period. The stave is from the 17th century.

Lomen Stave Church is first mentioned in 1323 and 1334, at that time under the name Hvams Church. In the church there is a chest with incised runes. The chest has a similar construction to chests from the Viking Age, it is closely related to three chests from the Oseberg discovery from the mid-800s. The runes on the chest are very old, possibly older than the stave church. There is also a Madonna head from the 13th century in the church - the remains of a Madonna figure, possibly Madonna with Child.

NORE STAVE CHURCH

Numedal, Buskerud. The church was probably built in the latter part of the 12th century and is first mentioned in written sources in 1404. The central mast forms the core of the truss system and is provided with runic inscriptions. The church was decorated in 1655 by the same painter who decorated the Uvdal Stave Church. The church is also rich in carved decorations with leafy tendrils and animal ornaments on the west portal of the nave. Along the walls of the nave there are remains of benches from the Middle Ages. It was rebuilt into a cross church in the 1720s.

The west portal of the armory has a monogram after the Danish-Norwegian King Frederick IV (1671-1730) and the year 1723 can be read from when the armory was built.

REINLI STAVE CHURCH

Reinli Stave Church is located in Sør Aurdal, Valdres, Oppland. The church was built around 1140 and was first mentioned in 1327. Reinli Stave Church was built on an older Christian cemetery. All 12 dedication crosses have been preserved on the inside of the wall panels. In the church there is a round-arched opening about 50 centimeters above the floor, and tradition says that lepers received communion through this opening. The altarpiece is a reworked altarpiece from the Middle Ages. The pulpit has Renaissance features.

RINGEBU STAVE CHURCH

Ringebu Stave Church, Central part of Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland. It dates from the first half of the 13th century and was first mentioned in written sources in 1270. It is among the largest of the stave churches and post holes have been found at the same place from an earlier church building. It was expanded into a cross church around 1630 and restored in 1921. The figure of St. Laurenstius and the baptismal font are from the Middle Ages. The altarpiece is from 1686. The pulpit and the cross-partition monogram are from 1702.

ROLLAG STAVE CHURCH

Numedal, Buskerud. The church is first mentioned in 1425, but is older. The medieval nave forms the core, but the stave church was rebuilt and expanded towards the end of the 17th century. The wall decorations and the pulpit also date from that time.

RØDVEN STAVE CHURCH

Rødven stave church is located in Romsdalen. It is a single-nave stave church, but it has been significantly rebuilt and changed over time. There has probably been an older stave church on the same site before, and the current church consists of some older materials from around 1200. Rødven stave church was probably built in the early 1300s. A small choir was replaced with a larger one around 1600. The oldest inventory includes a crucifix from the mid-1300s. Rødven stave church has slanted supports to stiffen the side walls.

RØLDAL STAVE CHURCH

Røldal stave church is located in Røldal, Hardanger. The church is first mentioned in 1422, but was probably built during the 1300s. A small choir was replaced with a larger one about 300 years later. The church was decorated inside in the 1700s. There is a crucifix in the church, this is said to be from the 1300s. The crucifix is ​​said to have miraculous powers, every St. On his night, people came from far away to get rid of their illnesses. The crucifix is ​​said to have sweated and this was supposed to bring healing.

TORPO STAVE CHURCH

Torpo Stave Church is Hallingdalen's oldest building. It was dedicated to St. Margaret in the second half of the 12th century. A carved portal and ceiling paintings with motifs from the legend of St. Margaret are part of the church's medieval decorations. This stave church looks different from the other stave churches. The reason is that the nave remains without aisles. In most other stave churches, the nave is an independent building, and the choir and aisles have been added.

The reason why Torpo Stave Church stands as it is today is that the church was sold in 1880 to the Norwegian Association for the Preservation of Historical Monuments. The association did not have enough money for the entire church, so the choir and apse were demolished and sold to others. Today, Torpo Stave Church stands tall and square, but it gives us the opportunity to study the architecture. The windows in the church were inserted after the Reformation.

UNDREDAL STAVE CHURCH

The stave church is located in Undredal in Sogn. This is a single-nave, simple and small stave church. The year 1147 is written on a truss, which shows that the Undredal stave church is one of Norway's oldest stave churches. It is first mentioned in written sources in 1321 by Bishop Audfinn in Bjørgvin.

The church, which was dedicated to St. Nikolai, was one of 7-8 churches, 3-4 of these private churches, in the district before the Black Death. After the Black Death, there were only two left, and one was the Undredal stave church.

In 1722 the church underwent a major renovation. In 1962 the church was restored and three layers of paint were washed away. Under the oldest layer, images of, among other things, mythical creatures and various symbolic signs emerged.

URNES STAVE CHURCH

Urnes Stave ChurchUrnes Stave Church is located in Luster in Sogn. When the church was built in the second half of the 12th century, materials from a 100-year-old church were used, including the richly carved north portal. This wooden carving has given its name to the URNES style, which dates to about 1050-1100. It is therefore assumed that an earlier church was demolished around the middle of the 12th century, and that materials from this were used for the current church. The ground under the church shows that there must have been a building with earthen walls, probably a church from the missionary period in the transition between the Åsa faith and the Christian era.

Excavations show that there must have been at least two buildings on the site before the current church. During restoration in 1956, it was found that a church had previously stood on the same site. 70 cm deep, round pits were found. In the pits there were remains of stones that had been used to wedge the posts, which may have had a diameter of 30-40 cm. A couple of coins from the time of Harald Hardråde (1046 to 1066) were also found. The ground plan of the former church appears to be 5 x 6.5 meters, with an attached choir of 3 x 3 meters. Under the church, a stick was found with carved runes that read "Arne prest vil ha Inga".

The roof and walls of the middle room are covered with shavings in a magnificent brown hue. From the very beginning and up to our time, the church has been tarred, and this simple form of protection of the wood has maintained the church for more than 800 years. The church is very well preserved and is Norway's oldest stave church and is listed on UNESCO's list of cultural treasures.

UVDAL STAVE CHURCH

The stave church is located in Uvdal in Numedal, Buskerud. The church dates from the latter part of the 12th century. It was rebuilt as a cross church in 1723. The portals, the half-masts above the chancel arch and the carvings of the west gallery are medieval. The Renaissance decoration is from the 17th century and the Rococo ornaments are from the 18th century. In the middle of the church's original nave stands the central mast.

Two rune sticks were found in connection with the excavations under the church floor in 1978. On one is written: "Eirik, write runes for me". The other runic text is (for now?) incomprehensible. Signs indicate that a small single-nave church stood on the same site before the current church. Everything except the sacristy is stave-built.

VANG STAVE CHURCH IN KARPACZ IN POLAND

VANG stave church was built at the end of the 12th century and was located on the south side of Vangsmjøsa, close to the current church. The church is first mentioned in written sources in 1327. It was also mentioned in 1386 when King Håkon VI, while passing through, signed a letter in the church.

After much controversy among the people of Vang, the church was demolished in 1841.

The national romantic painter I.C. Dahl fought in 1840 to preserve the Vang stave church where it was located, but failed. But he bought the Vang stave church and sold it to King Frederick William IV of Prussia. The church was transported over the mountain to Lærdal, on to Bergen and by boat to Germany, where the stave church was rebuilt, as it was called at the time, in the Riesengebirge in Silesia. The stave church still stands there today.

It is visited by about 200,000 tourists annually.

VÅGÅ KORSKIRKE WITH BUILDING MATERIALS FROM STAVE CHURCHES

Vågå stave church is located in Vågå in Nord-Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland. The materials for the stave church originally date from around the 1150s, but the stave church was rebuilt in 1625-30 using demolished stave churches. The baptismal font is from the Middle Ages. The cross was carved and painted in 1758.

ØYE STAVE CHURCH

Øye stave church is located in Vang in Valdres, Oppland. The church dates from the 12th-13th centuries. The church was first mentioned in 1327 as ecclesia de obdal, i.e. the church in Oppdal. The church was demolished in 1747, but when the current parish church was to be repaired in 1935, 156 parts of the old stave church were found under the walls. The old stave church was reconstructed in 1956 from the 156 parts that were found there.

.