Norway’s stave churches – Arto Kuorikoski

Heddal stavkirke. Photo © Arto Kuorikoski.

I visited recently a few Norwegian stave churches (stavkirker) with my close friend Virve. Below are some images concerning these exceptionally old and interesting wooden churches.

There were once hundreds of stave churches in Norway. Only 28 of them have survived to this day.

So, what is actually a stave church? How do these churches differ from, e.g., Finnish wooden churches? How do these churches look like outside and inside? What do some of the finest wooden carvings tell us about the times the churches were built?

I’ll answer some of these most intriguing questions in my next major update of this page. However, here is a good starting point: churches from the outside and inside (inside if possible).

The Heddal stave church was the first one that we visited. It is the largest stave church still standing and was erected in the 13th century. For comparison, our oldest wooden churches in Finland are from the 17th century.

Our tour was as follows.