Why You Should Visit Borgund Stave Church

No trip to Norway is complete without a visit to Borgund Stave Church. But why this church out of the 28 remaining stave churches in the country? I’ll admit, Borgund Stave Church is not my favourite in the country, but it is very important. After all, Bogund is exceptionally well preserved and recognised as the most distinctive stave church in Norway. So, if you want to get an idea of the original stave churches, this one is great.

Borgund Stave Church is about 30km southeast of the town Laerdal, which is close to Flåm. The church stands on the historic main road between east and west Norway. Today the European Highway 16 (E16) follows the old main road. It’s one of the best known, most photographed, and best-preserved stave churches in the country.

I’ve written a useful overview of Borgund Stave Church, so you know why it’s so special. Also, it’s nice to know what to look for when visiting! If you have any tips or questions, please leave them in the comments.

Borgund Stave Church

Early History & Position

The exact age of Borgund Stave Church is unknown. It is possibly as old as 1150 when looking at the timber. However, the church is generally regarded as being from around the year 1200. It is dedicated to the apostle Andrew.

Borgund Stave Church is on the historic main road between east and west Norway, which was primarily used as a trade route for over 1000 years. This part of the valley widens, and the Laerdal River flows through it. With its strategic position, it’s clear to see why it became such an important place of worship. But it’s not just about trade: the valley has an abundance of pine trees, and it was necessary to build close to a pine forest. The valley is also sheltered in this section.

The first written mention of Borgund Stave Church is in a land register in the diocese of Bergen, written down shortly after 1350. Borgund is in many written documents as the church has always been important to the study of stave churches.

Important Worshipping Site

The location of the church is important. Being on the main road meant that travellers couldn’t help but be influenced by the church and the new Catholic religion. There was a sacrificial site on the hill, and animal bones have been found there. Perhaps the area was once used by pagans, giving another reason for building a church here. The old stone altar in the church probably once stood on the sacrificial site.

Construction Method

The church is very well documented, especially compared to other stave churches in the country. Stave churches get their name from their construction method. Here at Borgund, you can see the vertical wooden beams along the walls holding up the roof.

The church is built according to a basilica plan with a raised central nave. Structurally, the building is a ‘cube within a cube’, each cube being independent of one another. The inner ‘cube’ has continuous columns that rise from the ground level to support the roof. ‘Saint Andrew Crosses’ link the columns: these carry supports that offer the visual equivalent of a ‘second story’. While not a functional gallery, it is reminiscent of contemporary second-story galleries elsewhere in Europe.

Around the exterior of the church is a corridor with a roof. A guide once said that this is where the Vikings would keep their swords and shields while they attended church. But another common theory is that it was where people gathered before and after mass, and the roof provided shelter.

Dragon Heads

One of the most known characteristics of a stave church is its dragons’ heads on the roof, but very few stave churches in Norway have dragon’s heads. Borgund Stave Church is one of the very few with carved dragon’s heads. They are from the 18th century and likely copies of the earlier heads.

Dragons heads are also found on Lom Stave Church and Urnes Stave Church. I visited both on my Ultimate Norwegian Roadtrip.

Why dragons heads? I’m working on a separate article that explains the construction and symbolism in stave churches in much more depth, but we can talk about the dragons’ heads a little here too. Christianity came to this region around 997, around 200 years before Borgund Stave Church. It’s believed that the population continued to keep to the pagan tradition and faith well into the Christian times. Because of that, many pagan symbols with pre-Christian backgrounds, including dragons, have made it onto Christian buildings.

Dragons’ heads feature on Viking ships, and they are believed to keep evil spirits away. That is one reason why they are on stave churches. Another reason is that the construction of the roof is like shipbuilding, and since dragons feature on ships, they should be on the roof too.

Fun fact: the dragons’ heads weren’t only for style: they also formed the churches drainage system!

Changes after the Reformation

Stave churches were not spared from the Reformation that swept Norway in the 1530s. The conversion to Lutheran Protestantism saw many changes in these old Catholic Churches. At Borgund, benches line the walls: during Catholic times, it was compulsory to stand for hours! The pulpit and nave are from Lutheran times, and the walls are rose-painted: some of the rose-painting has survived.

Another common feature of a post-Reformation church is the introduction of windows so the community could read scripture. Borgund got many new windows but all except one have been removed in a later renovation.

19th century growth & restoration

The community around Borgund experienced a huge rise in population in the early 19th century. By the 1840s the stave church was too small for the public. The new Borgund Church is from 1868, the same year service at the stave church ended. Rather than tear the stave church down, as what happened to many stave churches, Borgund was preserved. This is probably because it had been so well documented and painted throughout history. The general perception had been that Borgund was special. So, it was sold to the Preservation for Ancient Norwegian Monuments.

A large amount of restoration work was done on the church to bring it closer to its medieval form. The pews were removed, except for the ones from the 1150s along the wall. The window openings were closed, except for one window. Some of the original paintwork was restored too.

Wooden carvings

Like Urnes Stave Church (which is UNESCO World Heritage-listed), Borgund Stave Church has a lot of detail around its western portal. In addition to animal motifs, there are acanthus vines, fighting snakes and flying dragons. Due to being found in many places in this part of Norway, they are places under a collective term called the Sogn-Valdres Group (Sogn and Valdres are two regions: Sogn after the Sognefjord and Valdres in central Norway).

Why pagan carvings around the door? Well, like the dragons’ heads, it’s believed the new Christians kept to some of their pagan traditions. Another reasoning is that Christian authorities may have interpreted the pagan symbols as the struggle between good and evil, in line with Christian medieval art. After all, in Christian art, the dragon was often used as a symbol for the devil. So, the carvings probably had a protective quality. The carvings at Urnes Stave Church are also read as the struggle between good and evil, or between paganism and Christianity.

Sadly part of the carvings was damaged after the church door was rebuilt in the 1820s. One of the stave churches caught fire in 1822 and 113 people died because the doors opened inwards and they were unable to get out. After that, a rule was made that all churches had to have doors that opened outwards.

Runic inscriptions

When visiting a stave church, always be on the lookout for rune inscriptions! There are several ones here. Most are on the walls of the church’s west portal. One reads: “Thor wrote these runes in the evening at the St. Olav’s Mass”.

Interior decoration

The interior of Borgund is very dark, so it is useful to have a guide with you. They have torches and can show you all the individual features.

There is little inside, and some may be disappointed, but it is also very true to what stave churches looked like inside during medieval times. There is a row of benches along the wall from the 1150s that were used by the elderly. There’s also a soapstone font, an altar from the 17th century, a 16th-century lectern, and a 16th-century cupboard for storing altar vessels.

Inside you’ll be able to see the twelve free-standing columns that support the naves elevated central space and the Saint Andrews Crosses connecting them. The original floors have been preserved but are today covered due to the number of people visiting.

The many Borgunds

Because Borgund Stave Church is so well documented throughout history, and today it is famous for being the most distinctive stave church, many other churches have taken inspiration from it. It has served as the inspiration for the reconstruction of Fantoft Stave Church in Bergen. The Gustav Adolf Stave Church in Germany, built in 1908, is modelled after Borgund Stave Church. There are also three replicas in the USA: Chapel in the Hills in South Dakota, Lyme in Connecticut and Washington Island in Wisconsin. Furthermore, the stave church at the Norwegian pavilion in Epcot in Walt Disney World Florida is a copy of Gol Stave Church, which was reconstructed to look more like Borgund Stave Church.

New Borgund Church

Don’t skip a visit to the new Borgund Church from 1868. It’s built in the dragestil and seats 175. Dragestil is a Norwegian architectural style that emerged during the period of National Romanticism when the country was interested in preserving the medieval style of construction – especially when it came to stave churches.

Exterior bell tower

Another exterior feature is the bell tower. It dates back to the middle of the 13th century and is the only original free-standing bell tower in stavework in Norway today. The bells are fairly new: one of the medieval bells is in the new Borgund Church.

Visiting Borgund Stave Church

When you visit, you have to park at the visitor centre and buy a ticket inside. Then, it’s about a 200-metre walk to the stave church – you have to cross the main road, so be careful! There will be a staff member by the church gate, and you won’t be allowed in without a ticket. Try and time your visit with a guided tour – it’s necessary to truly appreciate all the fine details in the church. Just ask when buying your ticket.

The visitor centre is also worth your time. It has a small museum with items from the church, plus an excellent gift shop and café.

The surrounding area is rich in cultural heritage. Close by is the King’s Road, which is the preserved part of the ancient road between east and west. Take a detour and drive along the old part, parking along the way to do Vindhellvegen, an old hairpin road turned hiking trail. It’s a short and easy path.

I recommend having a rental car, but you can get to Borgund via public buses. There are a few a day that links you with Sogndal, Laerdal and Flåm, so you’ll have to plan well. In summer, there are guided bus tours from Flåm that I’d recommend over relying on public buses. The drive from Flåm is a little under one hour.

Opening Hours: 15 May 2021 – 10 October 2021 daily 10am – 5pm

Tickets: Adults 100 NOK / Children 40 NOK

Up-to-date and more detailed info can be found here: https://www.stavechurch.com/our-stave-churches/borgund-stave-churc/?lang=en

Parking: Free by the visitor centre. Do not park next to the stave church

Restrooms: Inside the visitor centre