Stave Church

The stunning village of Vikoyri, Vik is home to the richly decorated stave church “Hopperstad Stavkirke”. Hopperstad was built in 1130 and is, together with Urnes, the oldest stave church in existence.

A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name Stave derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts are called stafr in Old Norse (stav in modern Norwegian).

During its long life, Hopperstad Stave Church has suffered periods of neglect but thankfully experienced a wonderful revival in the 1880s. With the exception of the nave and the chancel, most of the church's interior had been removed. In 1881, the architect Peter Andreas Blix offered his services free of charge. The stave church was restored using other churches as models. The external gallery and ridge turret are clearly inspired by Borgund Stave Church.