How to get to Fantoft Stave Church
If you’re spending a few days in Bergen, it’s well worth getting out of the city to explore the surrounding region. A popular place to go is the Edvard Grieg Museum, or you can go to one of the mountains for hike, but one of my suggestions is to go and visit Fantoft Stave Church.
Many people ask me during my walking tours how to get there, and I’ve even had some say that they tried to get there and couldn’t find it! I think one of the reasons about why it’s so confusing is because it can be a little confusing on GPS, and there are also two ways to get to Fantoft – one hard and one easy.
In this article, I’ve provide an easy to follow overview of how to get to Fantoft Stave Church. I’ll also explain a little bit about the church so you have some information about what you’ll be visiting.
In this article...
History of Fantoft Stave Church
If you are wondering what is a stave church, I have a whole dedicated page for that. You can visit by clicking here.
Fantoft Stave Church wasn’t built on this site. It was originally constructed around the year 1150 at Fortun in Sogn, a village on the innermost point of the Sognefjord in Western Norway. If you drive on the Sognefjellet Tourist Road, you pass the site where the church used to stand. The church stood there until 1879, when the town needed a new church. This was fairly common at the time; towns were growing due to better hygiene and health conditions, and in the 19th century it was a requirement that churches could fit a substantial percentage of the population.
The man who owned the region Fantoft, then a farming area, Consul Fredrik Georg Gade, decided to buy the stave church and rebuild it on his property. The church was moved piece-by-piece and reconstructed on his farm. Some renovations were done to the church to make it look more like Borgund Stave Church.
Arson
Fantoft Stave Church stood as a popular attraction until the 6th of June 1992, when it was destroyed by arson. This was the first in a string of church burnings by members of the early Norwegian black metal scene. However, at first it was believed that the church fire was caused by lightning or an electrical fail.
Varg Vikenes, from the band Burzum, was found guilty of burning four churches in Norway. He had been accused of also burning Fantoft, but was found not guilty for that church. The jury has since called this an error but did not overturn the decision. This is probably because a photograph of the burnt church appears on the cover of the 1993 Burzum EP called Aske, the Norwegian word for ‘ashes’.
Reconstruction
Fantoft was reconstructed according to what it looked like before, and since 1997 it has had a fence around it to protect the church from any future arson attacks. There are also a number of security cameras in the area.
Church Appearance
The church today heavily resembles Borgund Stave Church, which has been used as the model for a number of church renovations.
One of the most characteristic features are the dragon heads, which are on the roof. These are a pagan symbol to protect the building against evil forces. At the top of the church is a rooster weathervane, which represents Catholicism and St. Peter.
The stone cross outside the church is an original cross, believed to have been made in Norway before the first churches were built. It was moved here and the grave is fake to make the church look more authentic.
Detailed overviews of how stave churches are constructed can be found on my stave church page.
The Two Paths to Fantoft
As I mentioned at the beginning, there are two paths to Fantoft: an easy one and a complicated one.
The easy one is reached by driving or taking the Bybanen. The complicated one is reached by taking the public bus.
Why is the complicated one, well, complicated? To get to the church from the public bus it’s a very steep path that is guaranteed to be slippery in winter. It’s also not as well-marked as the other path, so it’s easy to get lost. The bus also takes longer and requires one change.
Getting to Fantoft: the Bybanen
The best way to get to Fantoft Stave Church is to take the Bybanen from Bergen city centre.
The Bybanen is the light-rail that goes between the city centre and the airport. From the first stop on the line, Byparken, it will take around 20 minutes to get to Fantoft.
How to buy a ticket? Easy! There are ticket machines at the Byparken station. You can also download the Skyss app and use that.
Where to get off? Easy! The stop is called ‘Fantoft’.
Walking to Fantoft (from Bybanen)
Okay, here’s the easiest way to walk there without getting lost.
- Once you get off the Bybanen, turn left
- You’ll see a Meny supermarket. Turn left onto the road just after the Meny (Fantoftvegen is the name)
- Follow Fantoftvegen. It will go up-hill slightly. You’ll pass a plant shop across the street on the right.
- You’ll eventually see a huge apartment block on the left that looks like a massive roof. You’re getting close! (See picture below for what the building looks like)
- Eventually, across the street from the apartment block is the parking for Fantoft Stave Church
- The road veers off to the left for a huge concrete office building. To the right of that road, you’ll see a walking path with a sign that says “Stavkirke” – that means stave church!
- Follow the walking path for a couple minutes. There will be a huge rock in the middle, and the path kind of (but not really) splits in two. Head to the left
- There is Fantoft Stave Church!
In total, the whole walk takes less than 10 minutes and is not very steep.
What if I take a taxi?
Taxi’s are much easier than public transport, of course. However, Norwegian taxi’s are very expensive. Estimate it to cost at least 200 NOK for a one way trip. There is also no taxi rank near Fantoft, so you’ll have to call a taxi to come and get you.
Visiting inside the church
While it does look nicer outside than it does inside, I do recommend visiting the inside of Fantoft Stave Church.
The church is open to the public throughout the summer months.
In 2022, the church will be open from the 15th of May until the 15th of September and it costs 70 NOK per adult to visit the church.
You can visit their website here: https://fantoftstavkirke.no/informasjon/
It’s in Norwegian, but the important bits are clear to see.
Final Thoughts
Overall, there’s no need to overcomplicate it by using public buses. Fantoft is very easy to access with the light rail Bybanen. While the bus stops look closer on Google Maps, the path is steep and poorly marked. the light rail is lovely and the path is a pleasant walk. If you follow my route, you’ll be able to visit Fantoft Stave Church easily during your stay in Bergen.
