Stave church - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A stave church is a medieval

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

wooden church with a post and beam

Post and lintel

Post and lintel, or in contemporary usage Post and beam, is a simple construction method using a lintel, header, or architrave as the horizontal member over a building void supported at its ends by two vertical columns, pillars, or posts...

construction related to timber framing

Timber framing

Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...

. The wall frames are filled with vertical planks. The load-bearing posts (stafr in Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

, stav in Norwegian

Norwegian language

Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...

) have lent their name to the building technique. Related church types are post church

Post church

Post church is a term for a church building which predates the stave churches and differ in that the corner posts do not reside on a sill but instead have posts dug into the earth. Posts are the vertical, roof-bearing timbers that were placed in the excavated post holes...

es and churches with palisade

Palisade

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...

walls.

All of the surviving stave churches except one are in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, but related church types were once common all over northwestern Europe. The only remaining medieval stave churches outside Norway are one dating to approximately 1500 located at Hedared

Hedared

Hedared is a locality situated in Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 348 inhabitants in 2005....

in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

and one Norwegian stave church that was relocated in 1842 to the outskirts of Krummhübel, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, now Karpacz

Karpacz

Karpacz is a spa town and ski resort in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland, and one of the most important centres for mountain hiking and skiing, including ski jumping. Its population is about 5,000...

in the Krkonoše mountains of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. One other church, the Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

Greensted Church

Greensted Church, in the small village of Greensted, near Chipping Ongar in Essex, England, is the oldest wooden church in the world, and probably the oldest wooden building in Europe still standing, albeit only in part, since few sections of its original wooden structure remain...

in England, has many similarities but is not universally regarded as a stave church.

Construction

Archaeological excavations have shown that stave churches, best represented today by the Borgund stave church

Borgund stave church

Borgund Stave Church is a stave church located in Borgund, Lærdal, Norway. It is classified as a triple nave stave church of the so-called Sogn-type. This is also the best preserved of Norway's 28 extant stave churches.-Construction:...

, descend from palisade

Palisade

constructions and later churches with earth-bound posts.

Similar palisade constructions are known from buildings from the Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

era. Logs were split in two halves, rammed into the ground, and given a roof. This was a simple form of construction but very strong. If set in gravel, the wall could last for decades, even centuries. Remains of buildings of this type are found over much of Europe. An archaeological excavation in Lund

Maria Minor church

Maria Minor church is a church rediscovered after archaeological surveys in Lund, Sweden.A post church with palisade walls, also called Sancta Maria, was discovered in 1911 on a site just south of the great square, Stortorget...

uncovered the post holes of several such churches.

In later buildings the walls were supported by sills, leaving only the corner posts earth-bound – post church

Post church

es. Such churches are easy to spot at archaeological sites as they leave very distinct holes where the posts were once placed. Sometimes the remains are even preserved, which makes possible very accurate dating of the church building. Under Urnes stave church

Urnes stave church

Urnes Stave Church is a stave church at the Ornes farm, along the Lustrafjord in the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway, about east of the village of Hafslo....

remains have been found of two such churches, with Christian graves discovered below the oldest church.

A single church with a palisade construction has been discovered under another medieval church, the Hemse stave church

Hemse stave church

Hemse stave church is a rediscovered palisade church from Hemse at Gotland. Before the present Hemse church was built there was a stave church from the early Christian period in the beginning of 11th century. The solid and richly ornamented stave planks of oak was used as a wooden floor in the...

. This church used a palisade wall, yet the walls were supported on sills.

The next phase resulted from the observation that earth-bound posts are susceptible to humidity, which will cause them to rot away over time. To prevent this the posts were placed on top of large stones, significantly increasing their lifespan. The stave church in Røldal

Røldal stave church

Røldal stave church is a stave church at Røldal in Odda municipality, Hardanger, Norway.-History:The estimated age of the Church is generally dated to between 1200-1250. A baptismal font in the church is dated to between 1200 and 1250. A crucifix in the church dates from about 1250...

is believed to be of this type.

In still later churches, the posts were set on a raised sill frame, resting on stone foundations. This is the stave church in its most mature form.

It is now common to group the churches into two categories: the first without free-standing posts, often referred to as Type A, and the other with a raised roof and with free-standing internal posts, usually termed Type B.

Those with the raised roof, Type B, are often further divided into two subgroups. The first of these, the Kaupanger group

Kaupanger stave church

Kaupanger Stave Church is the largest stave church in Sogn og Fjordane, and is situated in the town of Kaupanger, Norway. The nave is supported by 22 staves, 8 on each of the longer sides and 3 on each of the shorter. The elevated chancel is carried by 4 free standing staves. The church has the...

, have a whole arcade row of posts and intermediate posts along the sides and details that mimic stone capital

Capital (architecture)

In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...

s. These churches give an impression of a basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

.

The other subgroup is the Borgund group

Borgund stave church

. These churches have cross braces joining upper and lower string beams and the posts, forming a very rigid interconnection, and resembling the triforium

Triforium

A triforium is a shallow arched gallery within the thickness of inner wall, which stands above the nave of a church or cathedral. It may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. It may itself have an outer wall of glass rather than...

of stone basilica

Basilica

s. This makes it possible to omit the freestanding lower part of intermediate posts. In some churches in Valdres

Valdres

Valdres is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal.Administratively, Valdres belongs to Oppland. It consists of the municipalities Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre, Vang and Etnedal. The main town in the region is...

, only the four corner posts have been retained (see image of Lomen stave church

Lomen stave church

Lomen stave church is a stave church located in the community of Lomen in Vestre Slidre municipality, Valdres, Norway. It was built in the second half of the 12th century....

).

Many stave churches had or still have outer galleries running around the whole perimeter, loosely connected to the plank walls. They probably served to protect the church from a harsh climate, and for processions.

Single nave church, Type A

At the base of Type A churches there are four heavy sill beams on a low foundation of stones. These are interconnected in the corner notch, forming a rigid sill frame. The corner posts or staves (stavene in Norwegian) are cross-cut at the lower end and fit over the corner notches and cover them, thereby protecting them from moisture.

On top of the sill beam is a groove, into which the lower ends of the wall planks (veggtilene) fit. The last wall plank is wedge-shaped and rammed into place. When the wall is filled in with planks, the frame is completed by a wall plate (stavlægje) with a groove on the bottom, holding the top ends of the wall planks. The whole structure consists of frames — a sill frame resting on the stone foundation, and the four wall frames made up of sills, corner posts and wall plate.

The wall plates support the roof trusses, consisting of a pair of principal rafters and an additional pair of intersecting "scissor rafters". For lateral bracing, additional wooden brackets (bueknær) are inserted between the rafters.

Every piece is locked into position by other pieces, making for a very rigid construction; yet all points otherwise susceptible to the harsh weather are covered.

The single nave church has a square nave and a narrower square choir. This type of stave church was common at the beginning of the 12th century.

The long church, (Langkirke), has a rectangular plan with nave and choir of the same width. The nave will usually take up two thirds of the whole length. This type was common at the end of the 13th century.

The center post church, (Midtmastkirke) has a single central post reaching all the way up to and connected to the roof construction. But the roof is a simple hipped one, without the raised central part of the Type B churches. This variation on the common type of church, found in Numedal
Numedal
Numedal is a traditional district and valley Buskerud, Norway. Running north–south, it extends between Kongsberg in the south to Rødberg in the north, passing through the municipalities of Kongsberg, Flesberg, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal.. The river Numedalslågen, the third-longest in the country,...

and Hallingdal
Hallingdal
Hallingdal is a valley and traditional district in Buskerud county in Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol.-History:Ancient routes went to Vestlandet through Valdres and Hallingdal and down Røldal to Odda...

, dates to around 1200.

Single nave churches in Norway: Grip

Grip stave church

Grip Stave Church is a stave church in the fishing village of Grip in the municipality of Kristiansund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on a small island about northwest of the city of Kristiansund in the Norwegian Sea....

, Haltdalen

Haltdalen stave church

Haltdalen Stave Church is a stave church originally from Haltdalen in the municipality of Holtålen in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is now on display at the Sverresborg museum in Trondheim. The church was probably built in the 1170s....

, Undredal

Undredal stave church

Undredal Stave Church is a stave church in the village of Undredal, Aurland municipality, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway....

, Hedal

Hedal stave church

Hedal Stave Church is a stave church located in Hedal in Sør-Aurdal, Norway.-History:The first reference to the church is in 1327. The original church was a much smaller single nave church built second half of 12th century. The west entrance remains from the original church...

, Reinli

Reinli stave church

The Reinli Stave Church is a Norwegian stave church built some time during the second half of the 13th century in Reinli, a village in the Sør-Aurdal municipality of Oppland county. It is the third church at the same location in Reinli....

, Eidsborg, Rollag

Rollag stave church

Rollag Stave Church is a stave church in Rollag, Norway. The church is located a few kilometres north of the centre of the village Rollag. It was probably originally built in second half of the 12th century, though not much is left of the original church. Originally, the church has been a simple...

, Uvdal

Uvdal Stave Church

Uvdal Stave Church is situated at Uvdal in Nore and Uvdal municipality, which is in the valley Numedal in Norway. The stave church was originally constructed just after the year 1168, which we know through dendrochronological dating of the pine tree used during the construction...

, Nore

Nore stave church

Nore Stave Church is a stave church located at Nore in Nore og Uvdal, Norway.-Description:Dendrochronological dating of wood samples indicate that Nore stave church was built after 1167. The church was built with galleries, a chancel and cross naves - an architectural style that was unique in...

, Høyjord

Høyjord stave church

Høyjord stave church is a stave church situated in Høyjord, Andebu, Norway and was built in the end of the 11th century. The church was later removed once and rebuilt. Last reconstruction was completed in 1950...

, Røldal

Røldal stave church

and Garmo

Garmo stave church

Garmo stave church is a stave church situated at the Maihaugen museum in Lillehammer, Norway. -Description:Garmo stave church originally came from Garmo in Lom in Oppland county. It was built circa 1150 on the site of a previous church believed to have been built in 1021 by a Viking chieftain...

.

The only remaining church in Sweden, in Hedared

Hedared stave church

Hedared Stave Church is a stave church situated in Hedared between Alingsås and Borås in Västra Götaland county, in the west of Sweden.It is Sweden's only preserved medieval stave church. For a long time it was assumed Hedared stave church dated to early medieval times because it was built as a...

, is of this type and shows similarities with the one from Haltdalen

Haltdalen stave church

Church with a raised roof, Type B

On the stone foundation four huge beams (grunnstokker) are placed like a # sign, their ends protruding 1-2 metres from the notches where they intersect. The ends of these beams support the sills of the outer walls, forming a separate horizontal frame. The tall internal posts are placed on the internal frame of large beams, and carry the main roof above the central nave (skip). On the outer frame of sills rest the main wall planks (veggtiler), carrying the roof over the pentice or aisles (omgang) surrounding the central space. The roof thus tapers down in two steps, as in a basilica

Basilica

.

The tall internal posts (staver) are interconnected with brackets (bueknær), and also connected to the outer walls with aisle rafters, creating a laterally rigid construction. Closer to the top of the posts (staver), shorter sills inserted between them support the upper wall (tilevegg). On top of the posts wall plates (stavlægjer) support the roof trusses, similar to those of the single nave churches.

The Kaupanger group consists of: Kaupanger

Kaupanger stave church

, Urnes

Urnes stave church

Urnes Stave Church is a stave church at the Ornes farm, along the Lustrafjord in the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway, about east of the village of Hafslo....

, Hopperstad

Hopperstad stave church

Hopperstad Stave Church is a stave church near Vikøyri in the municipality of Vik in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The stave church is assumed to have been built around 1130 and still stands at its original location...

and Lom

Lom stave church

Lom Stave Church is a stave church situated in Lom municipality in the Gudbrandsdal district of Norway. The church is a triple nave stave church that uses free standing inner columns to support a raised section in the ceiling of the main nave. This type of church is amongst the oldest Stave Churches...

.

The Borgund group consists of: Borgund

Borgund stave church

, Gol

Gol stave church

Gol Stave Church is a stave church originally from Gol, Hallingdal, Norway. It is now located in the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History at Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. -Description:...

, Hegge

Hegge stave church

Hegge stave church is an early 13th century stave church located in Øystre Slidre municipality in Valdres, Norway.The first recorded reference to the church is from 1327. Dendrochronological dating of some of the logs in the church, however, indicates that the church was built around 1216...

, Høre

Høre stave church

Høre stave church is a stave church located at Ryfoss in Vang municipality, Valdres, Norway. It was built in 1180 and rebuilt around 1820...

(Hurum), Lomen

Lomen stave church

Lomen stave church is a stave church located in the community of Lomen in Vestre Slidre municipality, Valdres, Norway. It was built in the second half of the 12th century....

, Ringebu

Ringebu stave church

Ringebu Stave Church is a stave church located in Ringebu in Ringebu municipality, Gudbrandsdal, Norway. Built in the first quarter of the 13th century, and dated according to coins found during archeologic surveys.-History:...

and Øye

Øye stave church

Øye stave church is situated in Øye, a village in the municipality of Vang, Oppland county, Norway. It is a triple nave stave church and dates from the second half of the 12th century. The church was situated next to the lake Vangsmjøse in Øye. Here, however, the river Rødøla would flood almost...

.

This form of church can also be recognized from the holes which remain from earlier earth-bound post churches built on the same sites. Little is known about what these older churches actually looked like or how they were constructed, as they were all destroyed or replaced many centuries ago.

History

Stave churches were once common in Northern Europe. In Norway alone, it is believed about 1000 were built; recent research has adjusted this number upwards and it is now believed there may have been closer to 2000. It is unknown how many stave churches were constructed in Iceland and in other countries in Europe.

Some believe they were the first type of church to be constructed in Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

; however, the post church

Post church

es are an older type, although the difference between the two is very small. A stave church has a lower construction set on a frame, whereas a post church has earth-bound posts.

In Sweden

Sweden

, the stave churches were considered obsolete in the Middle Ages and were replaced. In Norway, they were not replaced as quickly and many survived until the 19th century, when a substantial number were destroyed.

In Norway

Norway

, 28 historical stave churches remain standing. There are also a number of places where archaeological surveys have uncovered older post church

Post church

es. There are also some newer stave churches at various locations.

In Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, traces of post church

Post church

es have been found at several locations, and there are also parts still in existence from some of them. A plank of one such church was found in Jutland

Jutland

Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...

. The plank is now on display at the National Museum of Denmark

National Museum of Denmark

The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world,...

in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

and an attempt at reconstructing the church is a featured display at the Moesgård Museum

Moesgård Museum

The Moesgård Museum is a museum located in Højbjerg, a suburb of Aarhus, Denmark. The museum is housed partially in the historic Moesgård manor, newer facilities built for the purpose of the museum and a large open portion of the museum surrounds the facilities...

near Aarhus

Aarhus

Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...

. Marks created by several old post church

Post church

es have also been found at the old stone church in Jelling

Jelling

Jelling is a village in Denmark with a population of 3,248 , located in Jelling Parish approx. 10 km northwest of Vejle. The city lies 105 metres above sea level.-Location:...

.

In Sweden

Sweden

there is a medieval stave church, the Hedared stave church

Hedared stave church

constructed c. 1500, at the same location as a previous older stave church. Other notable places are Maria Minor church

Maria Minor church

in Lund, with its traces of a post church

Post church

with palisade

Palisade

s, and some old parts of Hemse stave church

Hemse stave church

on Gotland

Gotland

Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

. In Skåne

Scania

Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...

alone there were around 300 churches when Adam of Bremen

Adam of Bremen

Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...

visited Denmark in the first half of the 11th century, but how many of those were stave churches or post churches is unknown.

In England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, there is one much debated church of Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

origin, and the debate is whether this is a stave church or predates stave churches. This is the Greensted Church

Greensted Church

in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. General consensus is to categorize it as Saxon [A]. There is also another church in England which bears similarities to stave churches, the medieval stone church of St. Mary in Kilpeck in Herefordshire

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

. This church features a number of dragon heads.

In Germany

Germany

, there is one stone church with a motif depicting a dragon similar to those often seen on Norwegian stave churches, and on a remaining artifact from Denmark and also from Gotland. Whether this decoration can be attributed to cultural similarities or whether it indicates similar construction methods in Germany has sparked much controversy.

There is some folklore suggesting that the stave churches were built upon old indigenous Norse

Norse paganism

Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...

worship sites. Only at one location does it seem possible to trace a connection, at Mære church

Mære Church

Mære Church is a parish church in the municipality of Steinkjer in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Mære. The church is part of the Mære parish in the Nord-Innherad deanery in the Diocese of Nidaros....

in Norway. At one corner of the churchyard remnants of another building have been found, and that building could be connected to Norse paganism. In other cases there is evidence of much older churches built on the same ground; often the stones are still left in the holes created by the posts of an older post church

Post church

, and under Urnes stave church

Urnes stave church

Urnes Stave Church is a stave church at the Ornes farm, along the Lustrafjord in the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway, about east of the village of Hafslo....

there have even been discovered remains of two such earlier post churches. The old portal from one of these churches is believed to be the one built into the northern wall of the current church. Thus, newer research on the stave churches suggests that Christianity was introduced into Norway much earlier than was previously assumed.

Architecture and decoration

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 organised completely differently. Despite this, 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 systematise its elements in a slightly different way from previous building designs, thus carrying developments a stage further.

Dating of churches

Stave churches can be dated in various ways: by historical records or inscriptions, by stylistic means using construction details or ornaments, or by dendrochronology

Dendrochronology

Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...

and radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...

. Often historical records or inscriptions will point to a year when the church is known to have existed. Archaeological excavations can yield finds which can provide relative dating

Relative dating

Relative dating is the science determining the relative order of past events, without necessarily determining their absolute age.In geology rock or superficial deposits, fossils and lithologies can be used to correlate one stratigraphic column with another...

for the structure, whereas absolute dating

Absolute dating

Absolute dating is the process of determining an approximate computed age in archaeology and geology. Some scientists prefer the terms chronometric or calendar dating, as use of the word "absolute" implies an unwarranted certainty and precision...

methods such as radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology can provide a more exact date. One drawback of dendrochronology is that it tends to overlook the possibility that the wood could have been reused from an older structure, or felled and left for many years before use.

A very important problem in dating the churches is that the solid ground sills are the construction elements most likely to have the outer parts of the log still preserved. Yet they are the most susceptible to humidity, and as people back then reused building parts, the church may have been rebuilt several times. If so, a dendrochronological dating may be based upon a log from a later reconstruction.

Old stave churches

Norway

A semi-official list of Norwegian stave churches which comply with specific criteria:

Borgund stave church
Borgund stave church
Borgund Stave Church is a stave church located in Borgund, Lærdal, Norway. It is classified as a triple nave stave church of the so-called Sogn-type. This is also the best preserved of Norway's 28 extant stave churches.-Construction:...

, Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....

— end of the 12th century
Eidsborg stave church, Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...

— middle of the 13th century
Flesberg stave church
Flesberg stave church
Flesberg stave church is a stave church located in Flesberg, Numedal in Norway. It was probably built around 1200. The first written reference to the church is from 1359. The church was originally a single nave church with four free-standing internal posts bearing a raised central roof,...

in Flesberg
Flesberg
Flesberg is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lampeland....

, Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...

— c. 1200
Fåvang stave church
Fåvang stave church
Fåvang stave church is a stave church located in Fåvang in Ringebu municipality, Gudbrandsdal, Norway.The church is a reconstruction of parts of other churches, built around 1630. Because it has been extensively modified, it is not counted amongst Norways "real" stave churches.The altar and pulpit...

in Ringebu
Ringebu
is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vålebru.The municipality of Ringebu was established on 1 January 1838...

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— rebuilt in 1630 (two old churches rebuilt as one)
Garmo stave church
Garmo stave church
Garmo stave church is a stave church situated at the Maihaugen museum in Lillehammer, Norway. -Description:Garmo stave church originally came from Garmo in Lom in Oppland county. It was built circa 1150 on the site of a previous church believed to have been built in 1021 by a Viking chieftain...

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— c. 1150
Gol stave church
Gol stave church
Gol Stave Church is a stave church originally from Gol, Hallingdal, Norway. It is now located in the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History at Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. -Description:...

in Gol
Gol, Norway
is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Gol. Gol was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...

(now at Norsk Folkemuseum), Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...

— 1212
Grip Stave Church
Grip stave church
Grip Stave Church is a stave church in the fishing village of Grip in the municipality of Kristiansund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located on a small island about northwest of the city of Kristiansund in the Norwegian Sea....

, Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal
is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...

— second half of the 15th century
Haltdalen stave church
Haltdalen stave church
Haltdalen Stave Church is a stave church originally from Haltdalen in the municipality of Holtålen in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is now on display at the Sverresborg museum in Trondheim. The church was probably built in the 1170s....

, Sør-Trøndelag
Sør-Trøndelag
- References :...

— 1170-1179
Hedal stave church
Hedal stave church
Hedal Stave Church is a stave church located in Hedal in Sør-Aurdal, Norway.-History:The first reference to the church is in 1327. The original church was a much smaller single nave church built second half of 12th century. The west entrance remains from the original church...

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— second half of the 12th century
Heddal stave church
Heddal stave church
Heddal stave church is a stave church located at Heddal in Notodden municipality, Norway.The church is a triple nave stave church and is Norway's largest stave church. It was constructed at the beginning of the 13th century. After the reformation the church was in a very poor condition, and a...

, Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...

— beginning of the 13th century
Hegge stave church
Hegge stave church
Hegge stave church is an early 13th century stave church located in Øystre Slidre municipality in Valdres, Norway.The first recorded reference to the church is from 1327. Dendrochronological dating of some of the logs in the church, however, indicates that the church was built around 1216...

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— 1216
Hopperstad stave church
Hopperstad stave church
Hopperstad Stave Church is a stave church near Vikøyri in the municipality of Vik in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The stave church is assumed to have been built around 1130 and still stands at its original location...

, Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....

— 1140
Hylestad stave church
Hylestad stave church
The Hylestad stave church was a stave church located in Setesdal, Norway. The church was estimated to have been built in the late 12th to early 13th century and was demolished in the 17th century. Some of the intricate wood carvings from the church doorway were saved and incorporated into other...

, Setesdal
Setesdal
Setesdal is a valley and a traditional district in Aust-Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes....

— second half of the 12th century
Høre stave church
Høre stave church
Høre stave church is a stave church located at Ryfoss in Vang municipality, Valdres, Norway. It was built in 1180 and rebuilt around 1820...

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— 1180
Høyjord stave church
Høyjord stave church
Høyjord stave church is a stave church situated in Høyjord, Andebu, Norway and was built in the end of the 11th century. The church was later removed once and rebuilt. Last reconstruction was completed in 1950...

, Andebu
Andebu
Andebu is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andebu. The parish of Andebo was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 ....

, Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...

— second half of the 12th century
Kaupanger stave church
Kaupanger stave church
Kaupanger Stave Church is the largest stave church in Sogn og Fjordane, and is situated in the town of Kaupanger, Norway. The nave is supported by 22 staves, 8 on each of the longer sides and 3 on each of the shorter. The elevated chancel is carried by 4 free standing staves. The church has the...

, Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....

— 1190
Kvernes stave church
Kvernes stave church
Kvernes Stave Church is a stave church located along the Kvernesfjord in the village of Kvernes in the municipality of Averøy in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was probably built in the first half of the 14th century...

, Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal
is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...

— second half of the 14th century
Lomen stave church
Lomen stave church
Lomen stave church is a stave church located in the community of Lomen in Vestre Slidre municipality, Valdres, Norway. It was built in the second half of the 12th century....

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— 1179
Lom stave church
Lom stave church
Lom Stave Church is a stave church situated in Lom municipality in the Gudbrandsdal district of Norway. The church is a triple nave stave church that uses free standing inner columns to support a raised section in the ceiling of the main nave. This type of church is amongst the oldest Stave Churches...

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— 1158
Nore stave church
Nore stave church
Nore Stave Church is a stave church located at Nore in Nore og Uvdal, Norway.-Description:Dendrochronological dating of wood samples indicate that Nore stave church was built after 1167. The church was built with galleries, a chancel and cross naves - an architectural style that was unique in...

, Nore og Uvdal
Nore og Uvdal
Nore og Uvdal is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rødberg....

, Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...

— 1167
Øye stave church
Øye stave church
Øye stave church is situated in Øye, a village in the municipality of Vang, Oppland county, Norway. It is a triple nave stave church and dates from the second half of the 12th century. The church was situated next to the lake Vangsmjøse in Øye. Here, however, the river Rødøla would flood almost...

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— second half of the 12th century
Reinli stave church
Reinli stave church
The Reinli Stave Church is a Norwegian stave church built some time during the second half of the 13th century in Reinli, a village in the Sør-Aurdal municipality of Oppland county. It is the third church at the same location in Reinli....

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— 1190
Ringebu stave church
Ringebu stave church
Ringebu Stave Church is a stave church located in Ringebu in Ringebu municipality, Gudbrandsdal, Norway. Built in the first quarter of the 13th century, and dated according to coins found during archeologic surveys.-History:...

, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....

— first quarter of the 13th century
Rollag stave church
Rollag stave church
Rollag Stave Church is a stave church in Rollag, Norway. The church is located a few kilometres north of the centre of the village Rollag. It was probably originally built in second half of the 12th century, though not much is left of the original church. Originally, the church has been a simple...

, Rollag
Rollag
Rollag is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The municipality of Rollag was established on 1 January 1838 . Nore og Uvdal was separated from Rollag in 1858....

, Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...

— second half of the 12th century
Rødven stave church
Rødven stave church
Rødven Stave Church is a stave church located in Rødven in the municipality of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. According to a notice board outside the church, the nave and south porch date from the 14th century, the crucifix dates from the 13th century and the pulpit from 1712...

, Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal
is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...

— c. 1200
Røldal stave church
Røldal stave church
Røldal stave church is a stave church at Røldal in Odda municipality, Hardanger, Norway.-History:The estimated age of the Church is generally dated to between 1200-1250. A baptismal font in the church is dated to between 1200 and 1250. A crucifix in the church dates from about 1250...

, Hordaland
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...

— first half of the 13th century (could be a post church
Post church
Post church is a term for a church building which predates the stave churches and differ in that the corner posts do not reside on a sill but instead have posts dug into the earth. Posts are the vertical, roof-bearing timbers that were placed in the excavated post holes...

)
Torpo stave church
Torpo stave church
Torpo stave church is a stave church located in Torpo, a small village in Ål municipality, in Buskerud County, Norway. Torpo is located along Rv 7, the Norwegian national road which runs between Oslo and Bergen.-History:...

, Ål
Ål
Ål is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ål....

, Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...

— 1192
Undredal stave church
Undredal stave church
Undredal Stave Church is a stave church in the village of Undredal, Aurland municipality, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway....

, Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....

— middle of the 12th century
Urnes stave church
Urnes stave church
Urnes Stave Church is a stave church at the Ornes farm, along the Lustrafjord in the municipality of Luster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway, about east of the village of Hafslo....

, Sogn og Fjordane
Sogn og Fjordane
is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Førde....

— first half of the 12th century (on UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

’s World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

)
Uvdal Stave Church
Uvdal Stave Church
Uvdal Stave Church is situated at Uvdal in Nore and Uvdal municipality, which is in the valley Numedal in Norway. The stave church was originally constructed just after the year 1168, which we know through dendrochronological dating of the pine tree used during the construction...

, Uvdal
Uvdal
Uvdal is a village and former municipality in Buskerud county, Norway.The municipality was created by a split from Nore on 1 January 1901. The new municipality, which was called Opdal at the time, had a population of 1,429. The name was changed to Uvdal on 22 January 1932 by royal resolution...

, Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...

— 1168

Poland

Vang stave church
Vang stave church
Vang stave church is a stave church which was bought by the Prussian King and transferred from Vang in Norway and re-erected in 1842 in Brückenberg near Krummhübel in Germany, now Karpacz in the Karkonosze mountains of Poland....

, moved to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

(no longer on the official Norwegian list due to reconstruction)

Sweden

Hedared stave church
Hedared stave church
Hedared Stave Church is a stave church situated in Hedared between Alingsås and Borås in Västra Götaland county, in the west of Sweden.It is Sweden's only preserved medieval stave church. For a long time it was assumed Hedared stave church dated to early medieval times because it was built as a...

in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

— c. 1500 on the site of an earlier stave church (not on the official Norwegian list)

England

Greensted church
Greensted Church
Greensted Church, in the small village of Greensted, near Chipping Ongar in Essex, England, is the oldest wooden church in the world, and probably the oldest wooden building in Europe still standing, albeit only in part, since few sections of its original wooden structure remain...

— 845 or 1053 (a church of Saxon origin sharing many construction details with stave churches)

Later stave churches and replicas

Stave churches are a very popular phenomenon and several have been built or rebuilt around the world. The two most copied are Borgund and Hedared, with some variations, and sometimes with adaptations to add elements from known stave churches from the area. In other places they are of a more free form, and built for display.

Denmark

Holmens Cemetery Chapel, Holmens Cemetery
Holmens Cemetery
Holmens Cemetery is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in the Østerbro district in 1666...

, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, built in 1902
Hørning Stave Church, Moesgård Museum
Moesgård Museum
The Moesgård Museum is a museum located in Højbjerg, a suburb of Aarhus, Denmark. The museum is housed partially in the historic Moesgård manor, newer facilities built for the purpose of the museum and a large open portion of the museum surrounds the facilities...

, Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...

, reconstruction of old church

Sweden

Skaga stave church
Skaga stave church
Skaga stave church is a twice rebuilt medieval stave church in Tiveden, Karlsborg Municipality, Sweden. The original chapel was built in the 1130s during the Christianization of Scandinavia, but it was demolished in 1826 to combat persistent pagan practices in the area. The locals wanted their...

, Töreboda
Töreboda
Töreboda is a locality and the seat of Töreboda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 4,299 inhabitants in 2005. Every three years since 2000, a festival has been held at the beginning of July.- References :...

, Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County is a county or län on the western coast of Sweden.The county is the second largest of Sweden's counties and it is subdivided into 49 municipalities . Its population of 1,550,000 amounts to 17% of Sweden's population...

, built in the 12th century, torn down in the 19th century, rebuilt in the 1950s, burnt down, and rebuilt again in 2001
Saint Olaf's chapel
Saint Olaf's chapel
Saint Olaf's chapel is a church in Kumla, Närke, Svealand in Sweden. The church contains parts of a stave church.The church dates from 1766 - 1767, with a tower from the 11th century...

, Hardemo, Svealand
Svealand
Svealand , Swealand or Sweden proper is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, Tylöskog, Kolmården, separated Svealand from Götaland...

, built 1766-1767

Iceland

Heimaey stave church
Heimaey stave church
thumb|Heimaey stave churchHeimaey stave church is situated at Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland.The church was completed on 30 July 2000 and was a present from Norway to Iceland as a gift for the millennium anniversary of the first church built in Iceland by Olav Tryggvason in 1000.The first church...

at Heimaey
Heimaey
Heimaey , literally Home Island, is an Icelandic island. At a size of 13.4 km² , it is the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, and the largest and most populated Icelandic island outside the main island of Iceland. Heimaey lies approximately 4 nautical miles off the south coast...

, Vestmannaeyjar, built 2000

USA

Boynton Chapel at Björklunden
Björklunden
Björklunden is the northern campus of Lawrence University. The estate is on Lake Michigan in Door County, Wisconsin, just south of Baileys Harbor. The landscape covers meadows, woods, and over a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline....

in Door County
Door County, Wisconsin
Door County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 27,961. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. Door County is a popular vacation and tourist destination, especially for residents of Wisconsin and Illinois....

, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
Chapel in the Hills
Chapel in the Hills
Chapel in the Hills is a stave church located near Rapid City, South Dakota.The Chapel in the Hills was dedicated on July 6, 1969, as the home for the radio ministry of Lutheran Vespers. The church is a special ministry of the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...

in Rapid City
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...

, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
Hopperstad stave church
Hopperstad stave church
Hopperstad Stave Church is a stave church near Vikøyri in the municipality of Vik in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The stave church is assumed to have been built around 1130 and still stands at its original location...

(replica) at the Hjemkomst Center
Hjemkomst Center
The Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, commonly known as the Hjemkomst Center, is an interpretation center museum in Moorhead, Minnesota. The building opened in 1985 and serves as a home to Hjemkomst Viking Ship, Hopperstad Stave Church replica, quarterly museum exhibits, and county archives...

in Moorhead
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....

, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
Little Norway, Wisconsin
Little Norway, Wisconsin
Little Norway is a tourist attraction and living museum of a Norwegian village located in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. Little Norway consists of a fully restored farm dating to the mid-19th century. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
Scandinavian Heritage Park
Scandinavian Heritage Park
Scandinavian Heritage Park is located in Minot, North Dakota. Scandinavian Heritage Park features remembrances and replicas from each of the Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway and Denmark, as well as Finland and Iceland....

in Minot
Minot, North Dakota
Minot is a city located in north central North Dakota in the United States. It is most widely known for the Air Force base located approximately 15 miles north of the city. With a population of 40,888 at the 2010 census, Minot is the fourth largest city in the state...

, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

.
St. Swithun's in Warren County
Warren County, Indiana
Warren County lies in western Indiana between the Illinois border and the Wabash River in the United States. Before the arrival of non-indigenous settlers in the early 19th century, the area was inhabited by several Native American tribes. The county was officially established in 1827 and...

, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

.
Trinity Lutheran Church on Washington Island, Wisconsin
Washington Island (Wisconsin)
Washington Island is located about 7 miles northeast of the tip of Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin. The island has a year-round population of 660 people . It has a land area of 60.89 km² and comprises over 92 percent of the land area of the town of Washington, as well as all of its...

Norway

Fantoft stave church
Fantoft stave church
Fantoft Stave Church is a reconstructed stave church in the Fana borough of the city of Bergen, Norway.The church was originally built in Fortun in Sogn, a village near inner or eastern end of Sognefjord around the year 1150. In the 19th century the church was threatened by demolition, as were...

, built c. 1150, destroyed by arson in 1992 and rebuilt in 1997 (no longer on the official list)
Haltdalen stave church (replica), a copy of the old church, now at Sverresborg museum
Gol stave church (replica), a replica erected in the 1990s at another (improbable) site in the community from which Gol stave church
Gol stave church
Gol Stave Church is a stave church originally from Gol, Hallingdal, Norway. It is now located in the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History at Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. -Description:...

was translocated in the 1880s.

Archaeological sites and dismantled churches

Iceland

Þórarinsstaðir archaeological excavation in Seyðisfjörður
Seyðisfjörður
Seyðisfjörður is a town and municipality in the Eastfjords of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name.As of January 2011, the town has 668 inhabitants....

, east Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

(Post church
Post church
Post church is a term for a church building which predates the stave churches and differ in that the corner posts do not reside on a sill but instead have posts dug into the earth. Posts are the vertical, roof-bearing timbers that were placed in the excavated post holes...

which predates stave church)

Norway

Hakastein church
Hakastein church
Hakastein Church was a church under Gimsøy Abbey near Skien in Norway. It is first referred to in a manuscript from 1354.In 2001, archaeologists uncovered post-holes and other features which are believed to belong to the church...

, Skien. Archaeological excavation of post church constructed between 1010 and 1040.
St. Thomas Church, Filefjell
St. Thomas Church, Filefjell
St. Thomas Church, Filefjell is the previous site of a medieval stave church in Filefjell, Norway. Little is known of its pre-Reformation use. It was, however, rebuilt in the early 17th century, and services were again held. Gradually, the church gained a reputation for having healing powers and...
Vågå stave church (Portal from an old church)

External links

The stave churches of Norway
Stave Church - Medieval Wooden Churches in Norway
Research in Medieval, Norwegian Wooden Churches, Relevance of Available Sources
The "Inverse design problem" in Medieval Wooden Churches of Norway
From Vitruvius to Alberti: Systematic Thinking in medieval church design
Dendrochronology
Animals in the middle ages from the Medieval Bestiary
Stavkyrkor from Historiska Världer — in Swedish
The Norwegian Medieval Stave Church — partly in Norwegian, English and German
stave churches owned by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments
The Uvdal stave church on Youtube
Google map of Norwegian stave churches

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Construction

Single nave church, Type A

Church with a raised roof, Type B

History

Architecture and decoration

Dating of churches

Old stave churches

Norway

Poland

Sweden

England

Later stave churches and replicas

Denmark

Sweden

Iceland

USA

Norway

Archaeological sites and dismantled churches

Iceland

Norway

See also

Literature

External links