A stave church (Norwegian : stavkirke) is a church built of timbers with a supporting structure of posts (pillars) standing on reclining sleepers or timbers and carrying poles. The structural joints in the wall form frames that are filled with standing planks or tiles. The poles (Norwegian : stavene) have given name to this church type. Stave churches are now considered to be among the most important representatives of European medieval architecture in wood and are represented by the Urnes Stave Church on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
This list contains 28 preserved stave churches. Reference is also made to the Fantoft Stave Church, which is a reconstruction of the church destroyed by arson; Vang Church, which is today in Poland; and two of the churches that were built in the 1600s with inspiration from the stave churches Fåvang Stave Church and Vågå Church. Uvdal Church from 1893 is built with a dragon style and other style elements, but is not included in this list.
In the Middle Ages there were probably over 1,000 stave churches in Norway, but most disappeared in the period 1350–1650, probably as a result of changing needs after the Black Death and the Reformation. [1] In 1650, there were about 270 stave churches left in Norway, and over the next hundred years, 136 of them disappeared. Around the year 1800, there were still 95 existing stave churches, while over 200 former stave churches were still known by name or written sources (according to Lorentz Dietrichson). From 1850 to 1885, 32 stave churches were lost, but only Fantoft Stave Church has been lost since then. [2]
After the Reformation, some stave churches were enlarged or rebuilt with log construction. For example, Flesberg Stave Church was expanded to a cross church (cruciform) with the cross arms in timber logs, while the Rømskog Church that was built with stave construction was replaced by a church in timber logs. [3] Also Old Hol Church was originally a stave church, but was rebuilt or expanded until there was little trace of the original building. Vågå Church is sometimes referred to as a stave church, but is the result of extensive reconstruction with reuse of materials from the rebuilt stave church.
The existing stave churches are concentrated on the upper valley regions of Eastern Norway (Østlandet) including Gudbrandsdalen, Numedal, Hallingdal, Valdres, and Telemark. They can also be found in the inner fjord regions of Western Norway (Vestlandet). Exceptions are in particular the two stave churches that have been moved to Bergen and Oslo, and Grip Stave Church which is located on a vacated island in the sea. [4] A map of the 322 stave churches known in 1800 shows that there were the most stave churches in the least populated areas, while there are most stone churches in the cities, in settlements that were less mountainous (Østlandet and Trøndelag), along the coast, and in the largest church parish in the fjords in Vestlandet. There were mostly stave churches in the mountain valleys and forest villages, and in fishing villages on the islands and smaller fjord arms. Where the parish churches were in stone, the annex chapels could be a stave church. [2] For example, the main church in Aurland Municipality (Vangen Church) is in stone, while there is a stave church in Undredal and there was probably a stave church in Flåm.
Church | Photo | Municipality | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Flesberg | Flesberg Municipality | After 1111 | |
Gol | Gol Municipality (now at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, Oslo) | After 1216 | |
Nore | Nore og Uvdal Municipality (now operated by the Fortidsminneforeningen [5] ) | After 1166–1167 | |
Rollag | Rollag Municipality | Before 1482 | |
Torpo | Ål Municipality (now operated by the Fortidsminneforeningen [5] ) | After 1192 | |
Uvdal | Nore og Uvdal Municipality (now operated by the Fortidsminneforeningen [5] ) | After 1168 |
Church | Photo | Municipality | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Garmo | Lom Municipality, now at Maihaugen | 1157-1158 | |
Hedalen | Sør-Aurdal Municipality | 1150-1200 | |
Hegge | Øystre Slidre Municipality | After 1216 | |
Høre | Vang Municipality | 1180 | |
Lom | Lom Municipality | 1150-1200 | |
Lomen | Vestre Slidre Municipality | Woodwork from 1179 | |
Reinli | Sør-Aurdal Municipality | After 1326 | |
Ringebu | Ringebu Municipality | 1220 | |
Øye | Vang Municipality | c. 1200 | |
In addition:
|
Church | Photo | Municipality | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Grip | Kristiansund Municipality | 1450-1500 | |
Kvernes | Averøy Municipality (now operated by the Fortidsminneforeningen [5] ) | 1633 [6] | |
Rødven | Rauma Municipality (now operated by the Fortidsminneforeningen [5] ) | c. 1200 |
Church | Photo | Municipality | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Eidsborg | Tokke Municipality | 1200s | |
Heddal | Notodden Municipality | 1200s | |
Høyjord | Sandefjord Municipality | maybe 1275 |
Church | Photo | Municipality | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Haltdalen Stave Church | Holtålen Municipality (now at Trøndelag Museum in Trondheim Municipality) | 1170 |
Church | Photo | Municipality | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Borgund | Lærdal Municipality (now operated by the Fortidsminneforeningen [5] ) | 1150–1200 | |
Hopperstad | Vik Municipality (now operated by the Fortidsminneforeningen [5] ) | c. 1130 | |
Kaupanger | Sogndal Municipality | c. 1190 | |
Røldal | Ullensvang Municipality | 1200s | |
Undredal | Aurland Municipality | 1147 | |
Urnes | Luster Municipality (now operated by the Fortidsminneforeningen [5] ) | 1130 | |
In addition:
|
Vik is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of Vik is the village of Vikøyri. Other villages in the municipality include Feios, Fresvik, Nese, and Vangsnes.
Aurland is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Aurlandsvangen. Other villages include Bakka, Flåm, Undredal, and Gudvangen.
A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts are called stafr in Old Norse. Two related church building types also named for their structural elements, the post church and palisade church, are often called 'stave churches'.
Eastern Norway is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet.
Borgund Stave Church is a former parish church initially of the Catholic Church and later the Church of Norway in Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was built around the year 1200 as the village church of Borgund, and belonged to Lærdal parish until 1868, when its religious functions were transferred to a "new" Borgund Church, which was built nearby. The old church was restored, conserved and turned into a museum. It is funded and run by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments, and is classified as a triple-nave stave church of the Sogn-type. Its grounds contain Norway's sole surviving stave-built free-standing bell tower.
Vågå Church is a historic stave church. It is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vågåmo. It is the church for the Vågå parish which is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden church was built in a cruciform design in 1627 by the architect Werner Olsen. The church seats about 250 people.
Fantoft Stave Church is a reconstructed stave church in the Fana borough of the city of Bergen, Norway.
Uvdal Stave Church is situated at Uvdal in the valley Numedal in Nore og Uvdal in Buskerud, Norway. The stave church was originally constructed just after the year 1168, which is known through dendrochronological dating of the ore-pine used in the construction. The logs were not completely dry when the construction took place.
Lomen Stave Church is a stave church of the Church of Norway in Vestre Slidre Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Lomen. It was formerly the church for the Lomen parish which is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden church was built in a long church design around the year 1192 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 150 people.
Rødven Stave Church is a former parish church of the Church of Norway in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The stave church is located in the village of Rødven. It was a church in the Eid og Holm parish which is part of the Indre Romsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre. The brown, wooden church was built in a long church design during the 12th century by an unknown architect. The church seats about 100 people.
Hegge Stave Church is a 13th-century stave church in Norway. It is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Øystre Slidre Municipality in Innlandet county. It is located in the village of Hegge. It is the church for the Hegge parish which is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden church was built in a long church design around the year 1216 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 150 people.
Vang Stave Church or Mountain Church of Our Savior is a stave church located in Karpacz in the Karkonosze mountains in Poland. It was transferred to its present location from Vang in the Valdres region of Norway and re-erected in 1842. A notable tourist attraction, it is Poland's only stave church. It serves as a parish church of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland.
Haltdalen Stave Church is a stave church that was originally built in the 1170s in the village of Haltdalen in what is now Holtålen Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The church is now on display at the Sverresborg Trøndelag Folkemuseum in the city of Trondheim. This is a single-nave stave church of the east Scandinavian-style, and it is the only one that is preserved.
A palisade church is a church building that is constructed with palisade walls, standing split logs of timber, rammed directly into the ground, set in gravel or resting on a sill. The palisade walls form an integral part of the load-bearing system.
Holmenkollen Chapel is located in the neighborhood of Holmenkollen in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. The original chapel from 1903 was destroyed by arson in 1992. The new chapel was completed in 1996. Holmenkollen Chapel is a listed site, registered in Norway's cultural heritage database.
An octagonal church has an octagonal architectural plan. The exterior and the interior may be shaped as eight-sided polygon with approximately equal sides or only the nave is eight-sided supplemented by choir and porch attached to the octagon. This architectural plan is found in some 70 churches in Norway. Among these Hospitalskirken in Trondheim is the oldest. This type of church plan spread from the Diocese of Nidaros to other parts of Norway. Virtually all octagonal churches in Norway are constructed as log buildings mostly covered by clapboards. Some of the largest churches in Norway are octagonal and the list includes important cultural heritage monuments such as Trinity Church (Oslo), Sør-Fron Church, and Røros Church.
This is the bright and solemn church room of classicism, whether it is such a large building [as Røros Church] or the modest rural log churches, the interior is covered and interconnected by cheerful colors of the Roccoco in marbling and ceiling. This was our last independent contribution to ecclesiastical architecture.
Norddal Church, also known as Dale Church, is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Norddal Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the village of Norddal, on the south side of the Norddalsfjorden. It is one of the two churches for the Norddal parish which is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre. The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal style in 1784 using plans drawn up by a local farmer, Ole Larssen Døving. The church seats about 300 people.
Church building in Norway began when Christianity was established there around the year 1000. The first buildings may have been post churches erected in the 10th or 11th century, but the evidence is inconclusive. For instance under Urnes Stave Church and Lom Stave Church there are traces of older post churches. Post churches were later replaced by the more durable stave churches. About 1,300 churches were built during the 12th and 13th centuries in what was Norway's first building boom. A total of about 3,000 churches have been built in Norway, although nearly half of them have perished. From 1620 systematic records and accounts were kept although sources prior to 1620 are fragmented. Evidence about early and medieval churches is partly archaeological. The "long church" is the most common type of church in Norway. There are about 1620 buildings recognized as churches affiliated with the Church of Norway. In addition, there are a number of gospel halls belonging to the lay movement affiliated with the Church of Norway as well as churches belonging to other Christian bodies. Until the 20th century, most churches were built from wood. 220 buildings are protected by law, and an additional 765 are listed as valuable cultural heritage.
Fortun Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Fortun. It is the church for the Fortun parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a long church design in 1879 using plans drawn up by the architect Erik Pedersen Rusten. The church seats about 250 people.
Hurum Church is a medieval stone church in Hurum, Norway. It was constructed in the 12th century. The church was damaged by fire in 1686, and rebuilt with a baroque interior. Next to the church, the Huitfeldt-family built a wooden funeral chapel in the second half of the 17th century. A new stone chapel was built in 1750, and contains the remains of the naval commander Iver Huitfeldt.
Lenge har ein trudd at denne kyrkja vart bygd i mellomalderen, slik som mange av dei andre stavkyrkjene i Noreg, men nye undersøkingar viser at denne kyrkja vart bygd i 1633.