Stave Churches

A collection of pictures of stave churches. There's very few original stave churches that still exist: 28 in Norway, 1 in Sweden and 1 in Poland (imported from Vang, Norway). This photo collection has all of 'em and some bonus replicas and other newly built imitations.

Uvdal stave church, aerial view

I had an epic autumn ride in 2017 where I got shots of a dozen stave churches in a single weekend, weather spectacular the entire way.

Lia gård chapel, aerial view

So, there's this Christian retreat center called Lia Gård, deep in the forests outside Koppang, Hedmark county, where they decided they needed to have a stave church. It's not really a replica, just a newly built stave church from scratch, finished in 2015.

Haltdalen stave church, aerial view

Haltdalen stave church is located at the Sverresborg folk museum in Trondheim and is yet another torn down church that was saved by enthusiasts. It is the only one remaining of this specific build method and also the only one remaining of the Trondheim region. It also has some materials from the Ålen stave church.

Borgund stave church

Borgund is one of the most visited stave churches, as it is kind of hard to not pass Borgund if you are going to the West of Norway on either E16 or drive over Hemsedal. It is also a museum and has guided tours, so there's that. It's a bitch to take drone pictures of though, cause there's trees either blocking the sun from reaching the front, or in the way of getting a nice angle. So this almost looks like a ground-photo, and it might have been. I don't remember :D

Grip stave church, aerial view

Grip is a fishing village on some rocks outside Kristiansund. That there are buildings there is a bit mental, that they built a stave church even more so. And somehow it isn't the smallest one, that's Undredal. I really enjoyed seeing it, although it's hard to take pictures of because of all the buildings. It's the only "neighbourhood" stave church, close to residential buildings. As it must be on a populated, small rock in the ocean!

Heddal stave church, aerial view

This is a shot from my first drone mission to Heddal. As with pretty much every church, you want the sun in the West when you take pictures of them, so the front is well lit. Luckily, I got the chance to do that on a later trip.

Heddal stave church

This is the biggest there is, and this angle, with the cloud behind, sort of makes it seem even bigger?

Høre stave church, aerial view

I need to come back to Høre someday a bit later in the evening to catch it from the front. But until then, this is what I've got!

Kvernes stave church, aerial view

Kvernes is one of two stave churches with poles supporting it. No, that's not the "staves" in stave church. Apart from this it's a nice one. It lies on Averøy right next to Kristiansund.

Lomen stave church, aerial view

Lomen is a church on private property I believe. Ideally would have wanted the sun at a different angle so I Could show more scenery, but when you fit 12 churches in on one trip, you can't be at all of them at the right time!

Nore stave church, aerial view

I find it interesting that "Nore og Uvdal kommune", the name of the municipality of this church, is a combination of two areas which both have their own stave church!

Fantoft replica stave church, aerial view

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture on the time of day when the sun lights up the front. Fantoft was famously burned to the ground by a blackmetal edgelord, but was rebuilt as true to the original as possible. The white sand ground makes it really pop from a bird's eye view!

Gol replica stave church

This is a funny one. This church in Gol is a replica of Gol stave church, which is, of course, in Oslo. The people of Gol decided around 1870 to tear down their beautiful stave church in order to get a more modern and comfortable one. Fortunately people with sense managed to preserve it and convinced the king (Oscar II, of Sweden-Norway) to put it up in his outdoor museum, the first of its kind, which is now The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. Then, over a 100 years later, Gol was a crossroads for many people who travel East/West in Norway, and especially those who go to the Hemsedal ski resort, and wanted to earn some tourism money! Gol then decided to build a replica of the stave church they previously tore down in order to make people stop by on their travels.

Svartdal, replica stave church

Someone in Telemark is so fond of Telemark's coolest looking stave church that he made a miniature replica of it (Eidsborg) on their huge cabin estate. It is apparently operational, and sometimes parish priests will hold service there. There was a gate qutie a way ahead of this area, preventing cars from driving anywhere near, but fortunately I drive a motorcycle and could drive past it and get this picture :D

Undredal stave church, aerial view

A tiny church between big cliffs. How gorgeous is this location?

Flesberg stave church, aerial view

This church is not in the most scenic area, and has a lame colour, a lame name, a lame construction and if I wasn't a completionist I wouldn't have bothered. But here, enjoy!

Heddal stave church, sunset aerial view

The world's biggest stave church bathing in the golden hour light!

Hopperstad stave church, aerial view

Hopperstad in Vik i Sogn (Vikøyri as some call it) is my favourite stave church. Borgund and Gol are beautiful and probably get the most tourists, Heddal is the largest, Urnes is the oldest and has gorgeous carvings on one side, but there's something about the mix of architecture and scenery here that just hits the spot!

Lom stave church, aerial view

This is the shot that made me start my drone photo documentation of all the stave churches. This church is something you pass if you go to Geiranger, which you must do at least once in your life! Anyhow, my previous shots of this church, as a measly, land-dwelling photo enthusiast, showed building and sky and nothing more. The drone shot shows it in its gorgeous, scenic surroundings and that's so much better! So, an idea was formed when I saw the results.

Reinli stave church, aerial view

Reinli stave church was one of many decided to be demolished for a new one, but fortunately the parish found other ground for the new one, so it remains. I think the building looks cool and way newer than 13265. No tower, but still plenty of details, but also with a tiny spire on the middle of the roof. It's definitely unique.

Torpo stave church

Most stave churches were removed to build a more modern one, especially in the 17-1800s. But some fortunately found room to keep the old one next to the new one!

Wang stave church

Wang stave church was a rescue from Vang, Norway that the painter Johan Christian Dahl manged to convince the king of Prussia to help save.

Øye stave church, autumn

Weather didn't cooperate with me this day

Eidsborg stave church, aerial view

This might be my second favourite. It's not as fancy and large as the most famous ones, but it has a look that is very distinctive yet also classical at the same time.

Hedalen stave church, aerial view

Hedalen, not to be confused with Heddal, has a petite and pretty stave church. This was the first of so many I got to take pictures of on a single, weekend trip to Bergen and back.

Ringebu stave church, aerial view

After taking my first, random drone photo of Lom stave church just an hour or two earlier, I had to stop by Ringebu too. This is the second largest stave church, after Heddal, and is easily recognizable by its red tower.

Rollag stave church, aerial view

Maybe the least sleek-looking stave church without poles holding it up, and it is also in the middle of the forest. It's a bit of a weird one.

Rødven stave church, aerial view

Rødven is one of two stave churches held up by poles. I think that looks ridiculous, but the view is great!

Urnes stave church, aerial view

The world's oldest, remaining stave church by Lustrafjorden in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Øye stave church, aerial view

The weather cooperated, but the sun was at an angle that I had no way around including the giant farm in the picture if I wanted a scenic shot with my drone.

Hedared stave church, aerial view

Hedared is the only remaining stave church in Sweden and is right outside Borås. It's in active use and when I took this photo the priest was actually inside preparing for service.

Garmo stave church, aerial view

It's not a high aerial view, but it's still a drone shot! Garmo is one of several saved churches from the West of Norway and has been re-erected at Maihaugen open-air museum in Lillehammer (yes, the 1994 winter olympics host city).

Gol stave church

Gol stave church at The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. Saved from the silly villagers of Gol who tore it down to make a new one. It's a bit weird that this is the only stave church I don't have a drone photo of, considering I live in the same city. I definitely could have taken a picture during the pandemic when the museum was closed. And I still might sneak a photo sometime. Soon?

Hegge stave church, aerial view

One of the dozen stave churches I documented in my weekend trip in 2017. Fantastic scenery and the yellowest of trees!

Høyjord stave church

For some reason I haven't been able to take a decent drone shot of this one, despite a couple of attempts. It is the only stave church from the East of Norway that still stands, so it's far easier to get to (other than the one in Oslo, but that one isn't FROM Oslo), but the drive is far less scenic than all the other ones.

Kaupanger stave church, aerial view

On my 2017 trip I couldn't get to Urnes, as the ferries had stopped going but once a day, and that did not fit my schedule, so I obviously had to come back for it later. Kaupanger is nearby, so made sure to get a drone shot of that one too. Could do without the ships in the fjord, but oh well.

Kaupanger stave church

This shot was taken in 2013 a full 4 years before I started my stave church project. I had completely forgotten I had taken the photo. When I visited Kaupanger with my drone in 2017 I was there at a time of day that forced me to take a picture of the backside rather than the front. And clearly, the front is GORGEOUS so good thing I had brought my DSLR back in 2013 on my way to visit a friend in Bergen.

Røldal stave church, aerial view

This one forced me to drive the E134 farther than I ever had. Very scenic trip!

Undredal stave church

The world's smallest stave church, even smaller than the one on Grip, which is basically just a big reef.