From 1000's To Just 28 Left...

9 Apr 2026

Stave churches were built of wood and were once widespread across the northern parts of the European continent, including Scandinavia. However, it is almost only in rugged Norway that these distinctive buildings have survived from the Middle Ages to the present day. Even here, the reduction in their number has been dramatic.

A stave church in every village…

Stave churches were built over a period of about 200 years, from the first half of the 12th century until the Black Death struck the country in 1349. More than a thousand rural communities, perhaps even more, had a stave church at that time. Today, only 28 remain in our country. Most have been rebuilt or extended, and many no longer resemble what we think of as a “stave church.” In some cases, only the stave construction itself and a few other elements remain from the original medieval building. Among the stave churches that have survived the centuries with the fewest changes is Borgund Stave Church. The churches that still stand are often found in small rural communities that could not afford to build new ones.

From prosperity to decline

The stave churches were built during the Catholic period. When the Protestant church order was introduced in 1537, the interiors of the churches changed significantly. Side altars and saint figures were removed. Pulpits and pews were added, and eventually windows as well. However, many stave churches were already in decline. After the Black Death in 1349, there were no longer enough people or resources for maintenance. When the population recovered 200 years later, log churches were built instead. By 1650, only 240 of the original 1,000+ stave churches remained. Two hundred years later, only 60 were left. The new church law of 1851, which set requirements for how many people church buildings had to accommodate, effectively gave permission to demolish older churches.