Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Stave Churches
Norway's most distinctive architecture is the stave church. These medieval
houses of worship—tall, skinny, wooden pagodas with dragon's-head gar-
goyles—are distinctly Norwegian and palpably historic, transporting you
right back to the Viking days. On your visit, make it a point to visit at least
one stave church.
Stave churches are the finest architecture to come out of medieval Norway.
Wood was plentiful and cheap, and locals had an expertise with woodworking
(from all that boat-building). In 1300, there were as many as 1,000 stave
churches in Norway. After a 14th-century plague, Norway's population
dropped, and many churches fell into disuse or burned down. By the 19th
century, only a few dozen stave churches survived. Fortunately, they became
recognized as part of the national heritage and were protected. Virtually all
of Norway's surviving stave churches have been rebuilt or renovated, with
painstaking attention to the original details.
A distinguishing feature of the “stave” design is its frame of tall, stout ver-
tical staves (Norwegian
stav,
or “staff”). The churches typically sit on stone
foundations, to keep the wooden structure away from the damp ground (oth-
erwise it would rot). Most stave churches were made of specially grown pine,
carefully prepared before being felled for construction. As the trees grew, the
