Dating back to the beginning of the 13th century, Heddal stave church in Telemark is the biggest stave church in Norway.
The majority of Norway’s medieval stave churches date back to the turbulent 12th century when Norse mythology gradually was replaced by Christianity. Of about 1500 stave churches, 28 still exist as silent witnesses of the bygone Saga era – all well preserved and really worth a visit.
The name ‘stave church’ is derived from the buildings’ structure of post and lintel construction which is a type of timber framing, where the load-bearing posts are called ‘stafr’ in Old Norse and ‘stav’ in Norwegian.
ThorNews has made it easy to “travel” and learn more about Norway’s stave churches. We have gathered and structured useful information on Google Maps, including:
– Alphabetical overview with summery
– Exact location and contact information (you can also use Google Street View to experience the stunning location of many of the stave churches)
– Links to articles with photos
We recommend that you view a larger map than below to get a better overview with the alphabetical list.
Map and text by: Thor Lanesskog, ThorNews
Photo by: Micha L. Rieser, Wikimedia Commons
Sources: Wikipedia, various Norwegian sources, including stavkirke.no
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