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[Christian]

Norwegian stave church thread

This thread is originally from my the thread which i've created at ssc. I will present all 28 stave churches in Norway over a period of time. Hope you'll enjoy the thread!

History of the stave church

Norwegian Stave Churchs is one of the worlds most impressive churches, and the oldest wooden structures which is left on earth. The first stave churchs was built when the christianity came to Norway in the 10th and 11th century. Between 750 and 1 250 Stave churchs was built between the 10th century and the 15th century. Only 28 is left.

With the introduction of Christianity to Norway in the 10th and 11th centuries, churches of different sizes and forms were built. Some may have been made partly of stones and wood. Some wooden buildings had earth-bound posts, and some had their lower construction set on a frame. Even though the wooden churches had structural differences, they give a recognizable general impression. Formal differences may hide common features of their planning; while apparently similar buildings may turn out to have their structural elements organized differently. Certain basic principles must have been common to all types of building. Basic geometrical figures, numbers that were easy to work with, one or just a few length units and simple ratios, and perhaps proportions as well were among the theoretical aids all builders inherited. The specialist was the man who knew a particular type of building so well that he could systematize its elements in a slightly different way from what was the case in the buildings known hitherto, thus carrying developments a stage further.

List of churches in Norway:
Borgund stave church - Lærdal, Norway
Heddal stave church - Heddal, Norway
Hopperstad stave church - Vik, Norway
Kaupanger stave church - Kaupanger, Norway
Kvernes stave church - Averøy, Norway
Nore stave church - Nore og Uvdal, Norway
Rødven stave church - Rauma, Norway
Torpo stave church - Ål, Norway
Urnes stave church - Urnes, Norway
Uvdal stave church - Nore og Uvdal, Norway
Fantoft stave church - Bergen, Norway
Gol stave church- Gol, Norway
Øye stave church - Valdres, Norway
Høre stave church - Vang, Norway
Eidsborg stave church - Lårdal, Norway
Vågå stave church - Vågå, Norway
Ringebu stave church - Ringebu, Norway
Garmo stave church - Lillehammer/Maihaugen, Norway
Lom stave church - Lom, Norway
Røldal stave church - Røldal, Norway
Flesberg stave church - Flesberg, Norway
Grip stave church - Kristiansund, Norway
Undredal stave church - Undredal, Norway
Rollag stave church - Rollag, Norway
Reinli stave church - Reinli, Norway
Høyjord stave church - Høyjord, Norway
Lomen stave church - Vestre Sildre, Norway
Fåvang stave church - Fåvang, Norway

List of international churches:
Wang stave church - Karpacz Górny, Poland
Hedared - Älvsborgs län, Sweden
The Boynton Chapel/ Björklunden Chapel of Baileys Harbor - Wisconsin, USA
The Epcot Center stave church - Disney World, USA
Hahnenklee stave church/ Stabkirche Hahnenklee - Hahnenklee, Germany

[Christian]

Borgund stave church
Lærdal - Norway

Borgund stave church a triple nave stave church and is Norways best preserved church. The church was probably built in the end of the 12th century, and has not changes structure or had a major reconstruction since that date. The church site shows evidence of a previous building, which can point to a earlier church or perhaps an old heathen temple that had been taken into use as a church. The interior of the church, except for the pulpit and the altarpiece, is mainly free from the after reformatory decorations seen in most other stave churches. An authentic medieval square shaped baptismal font made of soapstone is still a part of the interior.

[Christian]

Heddal stave church
Notodden - Norway

Heddal stave church is a triple nave stave church and is Norways largest stave churches. The legent say the church was built in three days by Finn which was a troll. This probably happend in the beginning of the 13th century. After the reformation the church was in a very poor condition, and a restoration took place during 1849 - 1851. However, because those who did it didn't have the necessary knowledge and skills, yet another restoration was necessary in 1950's. The interior is marked by the period after the Lutheran Reformation in 1536/37 and is for a great part a result of the restoration that took place in the 1950's.

[Christian]

Fantoft stave church
Bergen, Norway

Fantoft stave church was originally built in Fortun, a village deep inside the Sogne fjord around year 1150. In the 19th century this church was threaten by demolishion as hundreds of other stave churchs around Norway. But the church was saved, and moved to Fantoft in Bergen in 1883. But in 1994 the church was totally destroyed after a well known satanists burned down the church. A new version was built, and finally completed in 1997. This version is supose to be exactly like the old version.

[Christian]

Øye stave church
Øye, Norway

Øye stave church is a triple nave church and dates to approximately 1150-1200 AD. The church was situated next to the river Vangsmjøsa in Øye. But the river flooded almost every spring and the dead bodies around the church bounce up from their tomb. So the church was moved, this time to a location further away from the river. But in 1747 the church was torn down and hidden away, and a new church was built on this plot. However, in 1935 they reconstructed the new church, and below the floor in the church they found the material from Øye stave church. 156 pieces of the church was used to rebuilt a new stave church which was completed in 1956. Øye stave church is today one of the smallest, and might be one of the oldest reminding stave church in Norway.