The stave churches of Norway were a unique style of wooden church architecture developed by the Vikings between the 11th and 13th centuries after their conversion to Christianity. The churches were constructed entirely of wood using tall vertical posts or "staves" as the primary means of support, resembling Viking shipbuilding techniques. Over 300 stave churches were built, with about 24 still standing today showcasing intricate wood carvings and paintings that blended Christian and Nordic pagan influences.

1. The Stave Churches of Norway KEVIN FOSTER 10/31/2008

8. Stave Church Decoration 10/31/2008 Along with the traditional layout, the Norwegians also borrowed various forms of decoration from western churches, most of which they would have experienced during their pre-Christian raids. Paintings were one of the main forms of decoration used in stave churches. Above the altar, on the curved wall of apse, like in many other Christian churches, large pictures or murals highlight religious figures and motifs. Some of the most elaborate and well-preserved paintings from Medieval Norwegians actually come from the front of the altar itself. The subject of the altar-front paintings often is the Virgin mother and Jesus as a child, a popular movement at the time of the creation of stave churches. The paintings themselves were created using an oil-base glaze with a chalk base on pinewood. Afterwards, the altar would be decorated with gold or silver or carved further.

10. Stave Church Doors 10/31/2008 While the carvings found at the tops of columns and the paintings found in and around the apse give us interesting looks into the artistic influences that other cultures had upon the Norwegian Christians, the finest example of elaborate ornamentation in stave churches exists around the doorways. The Norwegian people clearly picked up a penchant for zoomorphic figures while warring against the Celtic people in present-day Ireland. Combining these Celtic zoomorphic patterns with their traditional ribbon-like interlace, the creators of the stave churches created some of the most elaborate and beautiful decorative carvings of the Medieval ages. One of the most ornate doorway sculptures is at the church at Gol; large, zoomorphic figures writhe and contract among one another while smaller interlacing ribbons connect the figures, creating an even stronger sense of flow.

12. More Similarities to Viking Longboats 10/31/2008 The looseness of the rest of the church structure also mimicked the architecture of Viking longboats. When their ships were out to sea, battling against strong winds during violent storms, an inflexible boat could be in danger of breaking and sinking; however, this flexibility allows the boat to groan and twist at the whim of the sea, unharmed by the weather. One specific architectural tool that was not only unique to stave church architecture, but also very important to the flexibility of the structure of the church itself, was the inverted arch. Aside from the mast and the keel, the Vikings’ ships were composed primarily of inverted arches, which ran from the keel up to the end of the wall next to the deck. The same inverted arches can be found among the gabled ceilings of the stave church. As the structure leans and creaks, the inverted arches push upon each other, increasing the elasticity of the entire thing.