Beginning in the eleventh century and continuing for several centuries wooden stave churches were constructed in Norway. By the thirteenth century there were more than a thousand stave churches. In the middle of the fourteenth century the plague came to Norway and much of the country was left unpopulated. The farm my family came from about 50 miles from Trondheim was not resettled until the 1600's.  Still the Grip church was built as late as the 15th century, and the Hedared church in Sweden dates as late as 1500. Today only around 30 remain. In 1992 the Fortun or Fantoft church near Bergen was the victim of arson.
     Several of the churches have been moved, re-erected and preserved at new locations. The Gol church was moved and reconstructed at Bygdoy at the National Folk Museum. Parts of others are also stored there. There is a stave church in Hedared, Sweden and one in Greensted, Essex in England. The old Vang stave church from Valdres Valley, Norway was sold to the King of Prussia, Fredrik Wilhelm IV, who moved it to Karkonosze (Mountains) in Karpacz Górny (now Polish territory) and rebuilt it there. 
     There are replicas of the Borgund church at Rapid City, South Dakota and at seven-eights scale at Washington Island, Wisconsin. The replicas at the Epcot Center, Disney World, Florida and Hallingdal, Buskerud, Norway, are of the Gol church, and a copy of the reconstruction has been built in Gol. There is a replica of the Hopperstad church at Morehead, Minnesota. And a replica of the Haltdalen church was built in 2001 on Heimwæy, one of the Vest-manna Islands, on the site of Iceland's first church, built by Olav Trygvasson.
     The Haltdalen church was placed in the Sverresborg Museum in Trondheim in 1882-1883. There are also plans to build a replica of the stave church in Haltdalen.
     The stave construction method uses vertical posts that rest on a foundation as the main support structure, rather than a horizontal planks or beams laid upon a foundation (as in a log cabin, for example).
     The site was usually a high, open area which was conspicuous and prominent, places which bore "the special imprint of God the creator." These locations were often on a peninsula, overlooking a fjord, or at the bend in a river. The ground at the site was leveled-out and the first wooden beams were laid out in a rectangular pattern atop a stone foundation. Next, the staves (or vertical posts) were erected. Cross-braces were then constructed between the posts. Bent wooden arches were also added to most churches between the staves for enhanced stability and decoration. Finally, carvings, paintings, and other ornamentation were added to both the interior and exterior of the churches. 
     Stave churches were made entirely of wood except for ironwork detailing like door locks or hinges. The wood used was specially cut and dried to prevent cracking. The only tools used in the construction of the stave churches were axes, augers, primitive planes, and various knives and chisels. The planks and pieces of wood were dovetailed, pegged, and wedged so each joint could expand or contract with the  temperature and humidity, which varied greatly from season to season in Norway.
     Of the churches that remain, 3 churches, and carvings, paintings, and tapestries from others have appeared on Norwegian stamps.

Urness ~ ca. 1150

     The church in Urnes was built around 1050, and is generally agreed to be the oldest stave church. The church was declared a "World Cultural Heritage" in 1979 by the United Nations. According to the WCH, "The church brings together traces of Celtic art, Viking traditions and Romanesque spatial structures."

     The Urnes stave church in Sogn, built in the second half of the twelfth century, contains a 100 year older church doorway. A four-legged animal beset by dragons is the main motif on the jambs. On the curved upper part dragons engage in battle. Serpents and dragons entwine in writhing figures-of-eight, forming the basic element in the impressive and delicately executed composition, with its roots in Viking art.

Borgund ~ ca 1150

     The Borgund stave church is the best preserved of the Norwegian stave churches - it stands more or less as it was when built in 1150.

Heddal ~ ca. 1250

     The oldest part of Heddal stave church, the chancel, was probably built in 1147. This was quite a small church, and only 95 years later the church was enlarged to the present size. It is the largest stave church in existence.

Ål Church ~ late 1200's

     The Ål church was pulled down in the 1880's, and a new church was built on the site. The timber vaulting above the chancel, complete with painted decorations dating from the later part of the 1200's, were acquired by the University Museum of Antiquities in Oslo.

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