Lomen Stave Church

Photo: Dagfinn Rasmussen

Lomen Stave Church dates from the late twelfth century. It has a rectangular nave and a smaller, almost square chancel, with steep, slate-covered gable roofs that flare out at the eaves. A small turret rises above the ridge of the nave. At the western entrance are two richly carved, round-arched portals decorated with animal heads and scrolling foliage.

Key Facts

• Built in the late 1100s • Located in Vestre Slidre, Innlandet • Still functions as an active parish church

Brief Overview

• Intimate stave structure with later timber additions • Interior features painted decoration and historic furnishings • Set within the quiet Valdres landscape

Unique Features

• One of the more intimate and lesser-visited stave churches • Demonstrates gradual transition into a larger timber church form • Part of the dense Valdres stave church cluster

History of the Church

The church was enlarged in 1749. Inside, the four corner posts mark the building’s former outer corners. The framework of the original raised central section also survives, with three pairs of posts along its length and two across its width. This load-bearing structure, with upright posts—or “staves”—secured between a horizontal beam above and a sill beam below, gives the stave church its name. When the church was enlarged, the roof was extended to cover the new outer walls, concealing the original raised central section from view outside. The interior reflects alterations made between 1750 and 1850. The altarpiece dates from the 1780s and is signed by Knud Andersen Syfte of Vang. Its scenes depict the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Evangelists, and Moses and Aaron. On the altar stands a cast of the head of a thirteenth-century Madonna figure; the original is now held at Valdres Folk Museum.