Borgund Stave Church
A remarkable wooden building in Norway
Borgund stave church is a remarkable survival from a bygone age. Built entirely from wood between 1150 and 1180 it has stood for around 850 years as a living example of the skill of the Vikings as workers in wood.
Stave churches
A stave church is one that is built with a basic post and lintel construction, i.e. without arches and vaults. Vertical posts (staves) form the walls and internal pillars, with sills resting on top that provide the base for further staves on top. The steep-sided roofs are often supported on X-shaped scissor beams.
Stave churches were once common in the Scandinavian countries, with up to 1,000 having been built in Norway before 1400, but not many remain today. This is hardly surprising given the susceptibility of wooden buildings to destruction by fire and severe weather. Some have been dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere, but the church at Borgund is a relatively rare example of one that has lasted down the centuries much as it would have looked when originally built.
Borgund stave church
Borgund is a small town in southern Norway, not far from the headwaters of the Sognefjord, a deep waterway that extends inland for more than 100 miles.