Costly restauration of Norway's Stave Churches

Norway's Queen Sonja was present when the famous Urnes stave church in Sogn was reopened Thursday, following two years of restauration. NOK 150 million will be spent on restoring Norway's stave churches.

Environmental Minister Erik Solheim was also present at the festival service, which was led by Bishop Jan Otto Myrseth.

Urnes Stave Church is the oldest wooden construction in Norway, dated to around 1130 A.D. Queen Sonja, who is an avid supporter of the churches, has visited Urnes several times.

There are now 28 stave churches left in Norway. The buildings are the oldest wooden structures in the country, and with the particular shape and building technique used, is said to be one of Norway’s most important contributions to world architecture.

Many of the churches have remained almost untouched since their initial construction in the 11th and 12th century, and many are therefore in poor shape.

At Urnes, the old foundations were sunken, and have now been replaced, stone by stone, by hand.

The restauration program was initiated in 2001 and has until now restored 17-18 churches around the country. The renovation includes safety upgrades to stop thieves, but also to counter bad weather and general degradation.

While the safety upgrades remain classified, they most likely comprise extensive security measures like surveillance cameras, alarms and guard patrols.

(NRK Sogn og Fjordane / Riksantikvaren/Vaart Land)

Contributed by Thor Steinhovden/Rolleiv Solholm

Sunday, 05 September 2010 06:16