The church stands as it did when in use. Both inside and outside it is, however, strongly influenced by the great changes carried out in the period 1650 -1750, when it received its existing chancel, its two transepts, its porch in the west and its sacristy on the chancel’s north side.

The nave is the only part of the building that has preserved its original form. It is constructed as a normal stave building, but it has a couple of unusual features. Nore Stave Church has also been a cruciform church of an unusual type. The chancel and transepts have formed the arms of the cross where the nave is the centre. The mid-post which bears the steeple marks the building’s mid axes. When Nore and a few other churches have a mid-post, the reason has probably been to make the turret strong enough to take bell-ringing.

Most of the medieval inventory has disappeared, except for the baptism font which is preserved. The bowl is of talc-stone, whilst the foot is of a hollowed log. The two carved crucifixes, of which parts are to be found in the church, are presumable from the 13th century: one is defaced and the other has received new arms and is covered in thick layers of secondary paint.
The wall-paintings are from several periods. In 1655 the new nave and chancel were thoroughly decorated with arcading in the lower part, old testamentary scripts in the mid-part, whilst the upper part was painted with garlands of leaves, flowers and fruit. The panels of the north and the south wings under the gallery have rebus paintings which are copied from an illustrated bible printed in Copenhagen in 1710.

Under the pulpit and to the west in the nave, along the outer wall we can still find the remains of the wall-fasten benches from the middle-ages. They were the only seats, meant for the old and sick, the rest of the congregation was standing.

The oldest coin found is from King Sverre`s era 1177-1202. In 1750, the church was converted and extended as it had become too small to meet the needs of an increasing population. When the new Lomen Church was completed in 1914, regular use of the stave church ended. Today, it is only used for weddings and church services during the summer season. Wooden sections dating back to the Middle Ages have been stripped down to the woodwork, but post-reformatory parts are still painted. Several medieval portals featuring wood carvings and animal decorations can be found in the church. Of the soapstone font from the Middle Ages, only the base remains.

A mediaeval chest leans towards the wall in the choir. It features a magic runic inscription that has almost been rubbed off. The Madonna-head on the altar is a plaster copy of the beautiful original from the 1200s. It was probably once part of a whole figure. Mary has wavy hair and a crown with four points. The original can be found at Valdres Folk Museum in Fagernes.

The rectory was the natural resting place for travellers until the late 1800s, when coaching houses and hotels took over. The Black Death in 1349 put an abrupt end to the busy medieval life. The church was unchanged for almost 300 years with recession and lack of both human and financial resources. The Reformation in 1537 did not lead to great change in the church building, but the altar, the crucifix and other Catholic symbols were removed.

In the 1600s, the church became too small, and in 1608 the first remodelling came. In the chancel, a flat, suspended ceiling was made and decorated by an unknown artist. The chancel screen was also altered to what it is like today, and the barrel arch above the chancel entrance was decorated with flowers and Bible passages. In 1634, a notched annex was built, facing the West. Thirty years later, the church was again too small. A part of each long stave wall was taken out and moved backwards, and new walls were built between then so that the church got cross arms towards both the South and the North. The old, external portals from the Middle Ages were also moved, and today they can be seen on the end walls of the cross arms. Werner Olsen, a well-known church builder from Ringsaker, supervised the remodelling, and he gave the church his trademark; a large central tower with a high spire surrounded by four small towers.

The Lom Church has a large collection of paintings. Most are painted by Eggert Munch, a clergyman’s son from Vågå and a distant relative of the later famous painter Edvard Munch. In 1793, the acanthus carvings reached Lom Stave Church. Jakup Sæterdalen from Lia in Lom carved new acanthus panels which were put on top of the painted panels of the renaissance pulpit from 1669, giving it the rich baroque decorations we see today. He also carved the canopy above the pulpit and a new chancel arch above the entrance to the chancel.

Located with a magnificent view over the Kvernes fjord and the Frei fjord. The chuch is only about 25 min drive from the big attraction; the Atlantic Road.

Inside the church; choir screen with crucifix and royal monogram, baroque pulpit, painted acanthus decorations. The altarpiece is from 1475.

On Nordmøre there are two stave churches, one at Kvernes and also Grip stave church on the small island of Grip. At Kvernes, guide service is available, and it is highly attractive for visitors, also larger groups. Open daily during summer.

Next door you will find Old Kvernes Rural Museum and the more recent Kvernes church (1893) is also located nearby. Exit the RV64 by Bruhagen towards Kvernes.

Its size and number of posts is what makes Kaupanger Stave Church stand out from other stave churches, as well as its interior. The church architecture is also quite different from other stave churches. There are very few carvings on walls, posts and other parts of the interior. This emphasizes the sense of height you experience entering the church. The church is built entirely out of pine from the forest of Kaupanger, and almost with no use of iron rivets. It has been suggested that the roofing and annex were added to the church shortly after the reformation. Also the interior, pews, and the font used for baptism, were added in the 16th centurt, after the reformation.

The fact that the church has been in continuous use, and still is the parish church, also adds to its unique character.

The church´s oldest part, the chancel, is from the 12th century. The nave, however, is from the second half of the 13th century. As well as the corner posts the church has side posts and a central post. Originally it was whitewashed and decorated inside, some of this has been restored. Finn Krafft has in addition painted a number of new decorations.

On the north wall are drawings of ships from the 14th century. The crosses are from the original consecration. The restoration was completed in 1953, the architect was Otto L. Scheen.

In the 1900th century the church was rebuilt and got a new choir and bigger naves. But the original construction of the nave from the 12th century is kept as a skeleton inside. The staves in the nave show clearly the original size of the building.

The new panel-work in the church is not painted, neither is the roof or the benches, and the gorgeous carvings stand out in the room. The entrance to the choir and the pulpit are on the other hand richly decorated. The entrance, which has the inscription “Fearing God and honoring the King”, is from 1828, but has also parts from the Middle Ages. The two portals have carved animal heads with vines and branches growing out.

The altarpiece, which is carved and painted by Tomas Tomasson Tørstad in 1800, is framed by carved flowers and foliage, with Christ on the cross flanked by Moses and Aron. The pulpit is probably made by the same artist. Except for a censer there is nothing left of the original Middle Age inventory in the church.

We do not know much about the appearance of the stave church during medieval times, but its restoration in the 1880’s was based upon similar stave churches such as Borgund, and remnants of the original stave church.

Hopperstad Stave Church is the only church where the original narrow chancel opening is preserved. In the Middle Ages, openings with small arches were added on either side of the narrow chancel arch.

The main west-facing portal is a fine example of medieval carving, featuring rampant dragons and intertwining vines. The south-facing portal has magnificent wrought-iron fittings.

The baldachin from approximately 1300 is unique in its kind and orginally formed a canopy over a side altar with a Madonna or saint figure. The paintings on the canopy depict the Nativity and Jesus’ early years.

The old church is still characterized by the eight big staves or columns in the nave. They are connected and held in place by double horizontal beams with St. Andrew’s crosses between the beams. The staves rise above the ceiling, which was added up later, up to the truss roof. Originally there was a covered gallery all around the outside of the church so that the gallery roof was topped by the church roof.

We know it was restored in 1694, 1706 and 1712. In 1844 it was enlarged so that the choir was as large as the nave. The lathe turned pillars were put in between nave and choir. In 1864 the sacristy was added, and a ceiling put in over the old church. The church was restored in 1923-24. Stone foundations were put in and new stairs to the gallery and tower. The inner portal with its magnificent carvings’ dates from the thirteenth century.

The altar piece, which was carved in 1782 by Østern Kiørn from Heidal, has its own story: Four men from the parish who had been to Gudbrandsdalen to buy or sell cattle, got caught in such a terrible storm that they promised God that if they survived, each would give the value of a cow to Hegge Stave Church. They survived, ordered and payed for the altar-piece and drew it on a sleigh over the mountains at Easter time the following year. On the altar are two pairs of distinctive candlesticks from about 1600, a chalice from 1685 and three ancient bibles, printed in 1699, 1738 and 1764. The church has a chasuble from 1792.

The church is an intriguing example of how places of worship were created in early Christian times. Architecture and wood carvings show a remarkably combination of biblical motifs and pre-christian beliefs.

Along the exterior gallery you can see fantastic woodcarvings around the four entrance doors. Powerful symbols are designed to scare off evil powers and invite people into the sanctuary of the church. One door is for men, one for women, one for the clergy and one in the west for processions. Today the west entrance is the only one in use.
Also in the exterior gallery wall are carved runes, house marks, and an archbishops’ cross.

There have been several reconstructions of this church. The latest one, in the years 1952-1954 sought to restore it to the appearance of medieval times. In today’s church one can observe elements from the different centuries. Here are incense burner from the middle ages, an altar from 1667, as well as benches and lamps from 1950. The walls of the nave are painted with floral decoration from the 17th century. Apostles in full figure decorate the chancel. From the top of the columns, 23 friendly medieval mask heads smile down at the congregation.

Originally three distinctive pieces of furniture were placed in the chancel, all containing motifs from the legend of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer. This myth has functioned as a link between pagan tales and Christian teachings.
The bishop’s chair is still here with carvings representing Brunhilde, and her suitors Gunnar and Sigurd on either side.
A replica of the original “Brugde-bench” is also at display. The front is decorated with busts of Sigurd and Brunhilde. On the back we see “Gunnar in the snake pit”. A copy has also been made of the so-called “Klokkarpulten”, a magnificent lectern with carvings depicting Sigurd between a lion and a dragon.

Near the stave church lies Låvekyrkja (the barn-church) which contains both a room for services, a café and various thematic exhibitions. At walking distance from the church is also Heddal bygdetun, an open-door museum with old farm houses and changing exhibitions.