Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A TRIP
BORGUND STAVE CHURCH
Borgund Stave Church
CHURCH
(adult/child Nkr80/60; 8am-8pm May-Sep, 10am-5pm Oct-Apr)
Some 30km southeast of Lærdalsøyri along the E16, the 12th-century stave church was
raised beside one of the major trade routes between eastern and western Norway. Dedic-
ated to St Andrew, it's one of the best known, most photographed and certainly the best
preserved of Norway's stave churches. Its simple, inky interior and sublimely rustic alter
are deeply moving. Beside it is the only free-standing medieval wooden bell tower remain-
ing in Norway.
Buy your ticket at the visitors centre, where an exhibition (included in the price of your
admission) on this peculiarly Norwegian phenomenon as well as recent early Viking finds
from a nearby archaeological dig are evocatively displayed. There's also a nice two-hour
circular hike on ancient paths and tracks that starts and ends at the church.
Vik
Pop 2731
Vik has two splendid small
churches
(combined entry adult/child Nkr80/70), each owing
their existence and present form to the 19th-century architect Peter Blix (who designed,
among much else, many of the stations on the Oslo-Bergen railway line).
Sights
Hopperstad Stave Church
CHURCH
(adult/child Nkr60/50; 10am-5pm late-May-late-Sep)
On the southern outskirts of the village of Vik is this splendid stave church, about 1km
from the centre. Built in 1130 and Norway's second oldest, it escaped demolition by a
whisker in the late 19th century. Inside, the original canopy paintings of the elaborately
carved baldaquin have preserved their freshness of colour. A combined ticket for the Hove
stone church, 1km to the south, is Nkr80/70.
