Gol Stave Church
Now at Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, Oslo
1212 (811 years ago)
What is a Stave Church?
A very basic description of a stave church is that is a wooden Christian church built in the middle ages (500 - 1500) in Northern Europe.
A stave is a post and these churches were made of posts that held up the building.
It is thought that at one time that there were thousands of Stave churches. They are built of wood and burn easily. There are 31 original Stave churches and 28 of them are in Norway. There are three outside Norway in Poland, Sweden and England.
The one that we saw is the Gol Stave church. It was not in Gol it is now in Oslo. It was moved in 1884 to King Oscar's Open Air Museum in Oslo which is now the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.
Where is Gol?
Below is a map of the train route we took from Bergen to Oslo. We passed through Gol. The original Gol Stave Church was moved to Oslo in the 1880s and in the 1980s a replica was made in Gol. Very similar to the Norwegian Folk Museum Gol has the replica of the Stave church and other farm buildings in their own open air museum.
Who built Stave Churches?
When the people the people of Northern Europe, particularly Norway, Sweden, Demark, Iceland, Germany and England embraced Christianity they started building these Stave Churches.
Why did people build Stave Churches?
They built churches to worship God.
Below are pictures of the inside with the Christian art and icons.
The Last Supper
Rick Steve's has a very interesting answer to this question.
The end of the Viking age with its pagan Norse gods is marked by the coming of Christianity to Norway in the 12th century. Those medieval Norwegians, now tamed, took their boat-building skills and rather than sleek ships to raid in, they built fine wooden churches to pray in.
He believes that with the coming of Christianity to the Nordic people they started building churches instead of ships, It is really cool to see how these churches resemble Viking ships.
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How were Stave Churches built?
According to Wikepedia,
Logs were split in two halves, set or rammed into the earth (generally called post in ground construction) and given a roof. This proved a simple but very strong form of construction. If set in gravel, the wall could last many decades, even centuries.
You can see in the pictures below the post construction in all the different parts of the church.
The parts of Europe where the Stave Churches were built were in heavily forested area. Wood was a plentiful resources and was used to make these churches. To help with the fires the wood was coated with tar. Remarkably 31 of these churches built in 1100-1200 have survived.
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When were Stave Churches built?
Stave churches were built in the middle ages, 500-1500. The ones that remain were built in 1100-1200. That is incredible! 800-900 years ago!
One of the things I especially liked are the carvings around the church. The light was great so I got a picture of @jarvie next to the carving.
It was really special to see and walk around a church so old and full of history and culture.
Sources:
Stave Church
Gol Stave Church
Norsk Folkemuseum History
Gol, Norway
Rick Steve's- Norway’s Viking History, Stave Churches, and Remote Farmsteads
Wow - I have always wanted to see one of those. And I had no idea there was one in England. I looked it up and it aint that far from where my brother lives - so the next time I visit him, I'll be checking it out too !!!
!PIZZA
Yay, that is so great. I will be excited to see your post of it.
Wow! What a peculiar-looking church @sjarvie5. We've all been accustomed to traditional architecture of churches in the Christian world. Yet, your featured Stave Church is simply astonishing - I've never seen anything like it before! And learning that these sacred buildings of wood were constructed to mimic Viking ships was even more mind-blowing. Thank you for your incredible contribution! 😊
Thank you. It is such unique and interesting architecture. I knew I had to do a post of it for the community!
It is a church worthy of being shown both for its unique wooden architecture with details and its exterior where there are indications of the construction of Viking ships, without a doubt now Norway has a great work and many more to show.
Hi @ginethchira2301 thanks.
Such a cool building, love it.
The details are beautiful @sjarvie5 👋🏻😊
Have a great Monday!
Thanks @littlebee4 It was such a cool building to see and walk around.
You are welcome @sjarvie5 👋🏻😊 I can imagine.
Have a wonderful mid week!
Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1741.
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You share informative information. Its really old and historical places. The work and the art on this is historical. This place not only gives us peace but also connects us with our ancient ancestors
This old building looks very wonderful. I like to read old buildings history. This church has been built in a very beautiful way with a lot of effort. One day i will visit Norway and also visit this historical building. Thanks for sharing detailed knowledge of this church.
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