Borgund stave church

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Stave church in Borgund

Borgund stave church (Borgund stavkyrkje) is a stave church located in Lærdal, Norway. This is also Norway's best preserved stave church. The church was probably built in the end of the 12th century, and has not changed structure or had a major reconstruction since that date. The church site shows evidence of a previous building, which can point to an earlier church or perhaps an old pagan temple that had been taken into use as a church. The interior of the church, except for the pulpit and the altarpiece, is mainly free from the post-Reformation decorations seen in most other stave churches. An authentic medieval square shaped baptismal font made of soapstone is still a part of the interior.

The church is a triple nave stave church of the so-called Borgund-type.

Several runic inscriptions are found on the walls of the church, one reads: Tor wrote these runes in the evening at the St. Olav’s Mass.

Borgund stave church is owned by Fortidsminneforeningen (The Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments).

There is a replica of the Borgund stave church in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA.

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