Mar-2023
Architectural Treasures from the Middle Ages :: Bogund Stave Church
Medieval wooden Christian structures known as stave churches are located throughout Norway and are considered a significant part of the nation’s heritage. One of the most striking is in the small village of Borgund.
Dedicated to the Apostle Andrew and affiliated with the Protestant Church of Norway, it’s considered the best-preserved of Norway’s 28 remaining stave churches. Tree-ring dating indicates the timber used for its construction was felled in the winter of 1180-1181AD.
Stave churches are characterized by the “staves,” or thick wooden posts, that hold them up. Using the same woodworking prowess that made the Vikings such adept shipbuilders, traditional stave churches were often built using nothing more that expertly crafted joints and joins, with no nails or glue. The only stones used were in the base of the structures.
As they did with the ships that carried them as far as Africa and North America, the Nordic builders coated their stave churches with pine tar to seal and protect the wood from frigid winters, long days of summer sun, and Scandinavia’s full spectrum of precipitation.
With its carved portals and especially with the dragons that are carved on its gables, it is difficult to escape the impression that, notwithstanding its Christian dedication, one is looking at a building that is very closely related to the Viking age.
Archaeologists estimate there were as many as 2,000 of these epic wooden churches scattered throughout Scandinavia. The majority probably disappeared because of the precipitous drop in Norway’s population during the time of the bubonic plague, known to have killed as many as two-thirds of all Norwegians. During the 1400s and 1500s, no new Norwegian churches were built, and it’s easy to imagine the toll that two centuries of damp and extreme Scandinavian weather would take on wooden churches that lacked anyone to care for them.
Archaeologists estimate there were as many as 2,000 of these epic wooden churches scattered throughout Scandinavia. The majority probably disappeared because of the precipitous drop in Norway’s population during the time of the bubonic plague, known to have killed as many as two-thirds of all Norwegians. During the 1400s and 1500s, no new Norwegian churches were built, and it’s easy to imagine the toll that two centuries of damp and extreme Scandinavian weather would take on wooden churches that lacked anyone to care for them.
TIP: Look for the ancient runic inscriptions carved into the walls of the church by long-ago worshipers. One reads: “Thor wrote these runes in the evening at St. Olav’s Mass” , and another one reads “Ave Maria”, found at the west portal of the church.
Are you planning a trip to Borgund Stave Church in Norway? Even if you don’t visit this one, it’s a MUST to visit a Stave Church while in Norway.
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This church is incredible!