Undredal stave church
Encyclopedia
Stave church
A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction related to timber framing. The wall frames are filled with vertical planks. The load-bearing posts have lent their name to the building technique...
in the village of Undredal
Undredal
Undredal is a small village in the municipality of Aurland in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located along the Aurlandsfjord, about south of the Nærøyfjord...
, Aurland
Aurland
Aurland is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Aurlandsvangen. Other villages include Bakka, Flåm, Undredal, and Gudvangen....
municipality, 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....
county, 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...
.
Undredal Stave Church was built in the middle of the 12th century. The church has been moved from different locations and reconstructed a few times. Around 1850 the building was extended to the west with the addition of a clock tower and porch. In 1913 there were plans to dismantle the church and move it to a museum in Kaupanger
Kaupanger
Kaupanger is a village situated along the Sognefjord in the municipality of Sogndal in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway.Kaupanger originated as a settlement during the Viking age. Earlier Kaupanger was known as Tingstad. Kaupang was an Old Norse term for trading or market place. Town's name is...
, but this never happened. Instead it was reconstructed in 1984 and under extensive maintenance work.
Inside the church, the ceiling is decorated with biblical figures and angels. The church with 40 seats is the smallest church Stave church in Norway.