Stave churches are medieval wooden Christian buildings once very common in North-West Europe.They are known for having a post and lintel construction, timber framing where the load-bearing posts are called stav in modern Norwegian. Borgund Stave Church located in the municipality of Lærdal in Sogn og Fjordane and is the best preserved Stave Church in Norway.
The church was built around the year 1180 and was consecrated by the bishop himself. It is said that he walked around the building three times, knocked on the closed door trice with his crook before he entered the church and led the church in mass, consecrating the building in the name of Christ.
The church as well as the visiting center is a great starting point for hiking because the church is located between Vindhellavegen and Sverrestigen. Vindhellevegen is said to be one of the most famous and best preserved routs of Kongevegen over Filefjell. TurApp Kongeveien as classified their hiking routs into four different categories.
Green – easy
Mainly short trips with no large inclines
Blue – medium
These routs can have hills with heavy incline and is recommended for beginners as well as medium fit hikers.
Red – demanding
The red routs are for experienced hikers with good perseverance. These routs demand that you hiking shoes because they consist of several demanding inclines and easy climbing.
Black – experts.
These routs are only for experienced hikers. You need good equipment and hiking shoes as well as knowledge about maps and the use of a compass.
Borgund Stave Church is fascinating to see! The contrast between the old and the new is striking and the hiking trails behind the church are gorgeous and a lovely place to walk. The “museum” is also a fascinating and must see before going out to see the Stave Church as it explains and shows how and why the Stave churches were built originally by the Vikings.
Pictures don’t really do it justice.
This church was spectacular and one of the highlights of my stay in Norway. I didn’t get to go outside but touching the outside and getting a great view was plenty.
It’s spectacularly preserved and a magnificent sight to see in person. If you can I highly, highly suggest checking this out.
( Reviews from tripadvisor.com)
[…] have earlier informed about Borgund Stave Church but there is several other Stave churches worth visiting, one of them are the Stave Church in […]