The stave church is rectangular outside with steep shavings dressed roofs. The eastern aisle is more narrow and lower than the nave, and all around the church there is a gallery. The two carved portals in the church now are copies, the originals from the Middle Ages are in a museum.

The interior is simple with bare woodwork. The floor boards are original, but the rest of the building material is mostly copying and reconstructions of the old church. In the choir there is a later painted crucifix from the Middle Ages. A painted altar frontal, i.e. an altar bib, is preserved in a museum. The font used for baptizing is from the Middle Ages and is carved from one tree. It came from St.Thomas’ Church at Filefjell when that church was torn in 1808. The font lid is also preserved.

In the beginning Uvdal Stave Church was built with one simple room – an almost square nave in which the belfry was borne by a central post. The chancel was quite small and ended in a semicircular apse. Nore and Uvdal Stave Churches are the only ones we have at preserved with this construction, but we know that the stave churches at Nes and Flå in Hallingdal were built in accordance with the same principle, and possibly Veggli as well. Finds on the site show that the church had a pentise round it.

In 1656 the whole church was decorated for the first time. On the bottom part of the walls rows of arches were painted in Renaissance style. Above these arches runs a text field with verses from the Bible, followed by fields with flowers, fruits and leaves above that. The ceiling was also decorated with the dense vine-like pattern we can still see. The name of the skilful artist is unknown, but we can see that he had European models for his work. The colours he used were ochre, red, grey and white.

As early as 1684 the next alteration took place. At that time the chancel was enlarged to its present width. The panels in the chancel were cut off and used again, and the new parts were decorated as far as possible just like the old ones. However, there was a difference. The verses from the Bible in the mid field were done away with, and the floral decoration was not equally skilfully painted. Possibly the depiction of the Fall in the chancel was painted at the same time.

Today the doorway leading into the church is protected by the porch. It is not known whether it was carved when the church was new. This portal bears a certain resemblance to the magnificent door still standing behind the panelling in the main building at Mellom-Kravik (13th century) roughly 10 kilometres further south in the valley. Both have motifs from the legends of the Volsungs. On the right side of the church portal we can see Gunnar in the snake pit, with his hands bound behind his back, playing the harp with his feet in the hope of lulling the serpents to sleep. On the left there is a carved vine-like motif issuing from the jaws of a beast. At the top a dragon engages in the combat.

In the porch a portal has been presented. This one is believed to be older. It stood outside in front of the door of the chancel facing south. Originally it had stood inside the church between the nave and the chancel. This portal is special because the vine-like ornamentation is openwork – today damaged by the sun and rain after having been exposed to the weather for many years.

Until 1620 the only light coming into the church was let in through portholes high up, but in that year the first two windows were put in. Not until 1624 were pews installed for the congregation. Before that time there were only pews fitted along the walls of the nave. It is not clear when the church got its pulpit and alter piece, but we know that the pulpit was there in 1656. The altar piece, with a painting of the Last Supper, is the work of a local artist. The model was the altar piece in Lyngdal Church, which came from the old church in Kongsberg.

The crucifix on the chancel beam was probably carved by a rural artist in the 14th century. A particularly interesting item is an approximately 30 cm high crucifix of bronze and enamel, which also stood in the church. It came from Limoges in France, and it was made during the 13th century. Today it has been deposited in the University Museum of National Antiquities in Oslo together with the censer belonging to the church. We may well wonder how such a treasure found its way to a remote valley.

On the long northern wall, magnificent original decorated sections from the third church have been incorporated.
Inside the church there are visible signs of the adaptation the church has gone through during the centuries to conform to the changes in religious and practical needs.

Some of the major points of interest are:

• A group of figures from the 12th century, the oldest in the country, depicting the scene at Golgotha: Jesus suffering on the cross and Mary and John as grieving witnesses.
• The altar baldachin or ceremonial canopy – a ciborium altar dating back to 1699.
• The richly decorated staves that form the framework for the elevated central space. The capitals (cushion capitals) are modelled on contemporary stone churches.

In 1979 Urnes Stave Church was included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The original stave church measured 12, 5 x 17, 4 feet. Later, both choir and porch were added. In a document from 1665, mention is made of a covered walkway along the outer church walls. No traces of this exist today. On the interior walls you can see markings that indicate that the nave has at one time had a gallery. Undredal does not have its own cemetery and therefore uses the one by Vangen Church in Aurland. Until 1859, when a church was built at Bakka, Undredal and Nærøy was one parish.

The chandelier with the five carved animal heads might be medieval. It is not mentioned in any known written sources. The pulpit is from 1696 and an old stool is from 1647. The two brass candlesticks are from 1702 and the chalice is at least as old. A copper baptism font hang on the wall of the church. It is decorated with a lion motif. When in use, the font is hung on the side of one of the front pews. One of the bells is medieval. It now hangs inside the church and is struck 9 times when the service is at an end. The two other bells are in the bell tower. One of them was made in Bergen in 1824, the other is newer. The church in Undredal is one of the few in Norway where you have to stand inside the church itself to ring the bells. In 1962 at least three layers of paint were removed from the church walls and ceiling. This process revealed the old decorations which had been hidden for a long time. The walls are covered with nicely painted draperies and vines and the domed ceiling is covered with stars and other figures. Under the oldest paint several figures were found carved into the woodwork. Among these are a man with an axe, a non-descript animal and different kinds of symbols. They probably date back to the time when the church was built. Undredal Church does not seat more than 30 people, i.e. 2 per pew. The church is old and tiny, but it is considered a great cultural treasure and well worth a visit.

Apart from the church, the tiny village of Undredal is home to 60 people and 300 goats. This is where the white and brown Undredal goat cheese is produced. Before 1988 you could only reach the village by boat or by walking across the mountains. In 1988 and 1991 roads and tunnels were completed, connecting Undredal first to the eastern and then to the western part of the country. After this there has been a marked increase in the number of visitors. This is due both to the goatcheese and the characteristic houses and last, but not least, the tiny stave church situated in between the farms in the western part of the village.

Torpo Stave Church is a good example of the fully developed stave church construction. The rows of pillars in the nave of the church divide this into a central chamber and side-rooms or aisles kept apart by fourteen 9m high staves. Because the chancel and the outside covered passages are gone, the basic idea of the high central chamber with pitched roof and the lower side-aisles with sloping roofs comes clearly to view. The pillars – or staves – show clearly on the facade and give an idea of the construction.

The chancel, that was demolished in1880, had the same width as the nave itself, only somewhat shorter. On the East side it was rounded off by an apse, a semi-circular extension of the chancel. This had a cone-shaped roof and slim cylindrical spires. There are also traces of an older and narrower chancel, but this went out of use as far back as the 13th century. The materials remaining from the demolition of the chancel in 1880 were used in the roof, tower and floor of the new church.

The nave is nowadays dominated by a great decorated vault depicting Christ, the apostles and the legend of St. Margaret. The vault is perhaps the greatest attraction in Torpo Stave Church. It was probably put up at the same time as the lectern and painted in the latter half of the 13th century. It is some of the oldest decorative paintwork in Norway.

Below the vault there has been a lectern (lectoruim), a gallery above the eastern part of the nave. The lectern was accessible by way of a spiral staircase, of which there are traces in the south- eastern stave. The gallery floor was supported by two beams which are still to this day, firmly fixed across the staves on either side of the nave. Over these stand two small pillars supporting the vault. All the way round the outer walls is a continuous bench with an arcaded front, and this is part of the church’s original furnishing.

The decorations are mainly from the 17th century. During the restoration the beautiful colourful wall paintings were rediscovered. The altar, pews and pulpit are all in baroque style. The altar, which is decorated with biblical motives and texts, was crafted by Gottfried Hendtzschel. He decorated several churches in the Rogaland county.

The font is made of soapstone and is as old as the church. The magnificent crucifix, which is located above the entrance to the choir, is dated to 1250. This crucifix was believed to have healing powers and every ‘’Jonsok’’ (6th July after the Julian calendar) the crucifix would sweat, and it was this sweat which could heal. Røldal was one of the most important sites for pilgrimage in Norway and this continued until 1835 when it was eventually stopped by a visiting dean. Many of the ornaments and statues from the Middle Ages are now in Bergen museum.

A new chancel and sacristy was built in the 17th century, and restored to its present look early in the 18th century. Daily guiding during the summer season.

Situated in Rødven, 34 kilometres outside of Åndalsnes by RV64.

Originally, the church has been a simple church with a rectangular nave. It was first mentioned in written sources in 1425. It was rebuilt around 1660 into a cruciform church. Around 1760, an additional lining wall was placed on top of the structure and the church was extended to the west.

In the 1630s, the church was rebuilt by master builder Werner Olsen. The church was then extended to the east with new transepts, a new chancel and sacristy, and the tower and spire were also built at the same time. The porch and apse were removed and the interior roof was lowered.

The restoration of the church, which was completed in 1921, included the ceiling of the ship removed and the 18th century wall decorations restored. In the Middle Ages, the church had two portals. The west portal has the original jambs decorated with animal ornamentation, while remnants of the south portal are preserved under the wall cladding.

The church room has mainly late 17th and early 18th century colors and furnishings. The altarpiece dates from the 1680s and is one of the earliest examples of carved acanthus leaf decoration in Gudbrandsdalen. The carvings on the pulpit and Fredrik IV’s monogram above the choir screen were probably carved by Lars Jensen Borg around the 18th century. The church has also preserved some of its medieval furnishings, including a large and a smaller crucifix from the first half of the 14th century. In the chancel is a medieval sculpture from the mid-13th century, depicting St. Laurence.”

In 1980-81, archaeological excavations were carried out in the ground beneath the church. Around 900 coins and other finds were discovered. Some of this is on display in the Ringebu vicarage. Most of the coins are from the Middle Ages. Post holes were also found for an older church that had stood on the site in the 12th century. The soapstone baptismal font from the oldest stave church is still preserved and stands inside the stave church.

The interior of the church has undergone significant changes throughout the years. According to the accounts, a number of works were carried out in 1700. The medieval rood screen, which stood between the midwives, was removed, a new pulpit was acquired, the altar was renewed, and the altar and some chairs were repaired.

In 1884-85 new interventional changes were made. New benches were put in and a new large west gallery was set up. The medieval doors of Madonna cabinets were assembled and painted into an altarpiece. First, the middle field was decorated with the ascension of Christ, and in the 1920s the side panels were painted with Moses, Aaron, the sermon on the mountain and the Crucifixion. The old pulpit, which in the meanwhile served as a grain binge, was put into the ship again.

In connection with the examination and repairs in the 1970s, the western gallery was removed and the benches from the 1880s were replaced by chairs. Of medieval inventory, only the altarpiece and the baptismal font of soapstone are left in the church room. The church has a crucifix from the 17th century, a memorial panel from 1799 and a font blackboard dating back to 1828.