Garmo Stave Church, ca 1200, in Maihaugen Open Air Museum, Lillehammer, Norway

Garmo Stave Church, ca 1200, in Maihaugen Open Air Museum, Lillehammer, Norway

 

 

 

Photographed in 2007

 

Garmo stave church is situated on a little knoll, surrounded by lacey birches and above a reflecting pond; the setting is most beautiful and quite romantic. It was only the second stave church I had visited and the experience was thrilling. Another American visitor was so impressed that she and her husband built a chapel incorporating similar design elements at their summer place in Wisconsin, USA.

 

The church was previously located on a Garmo farm, some 200 kilometers up the Gudbrandsdal Valley. It was erected in the Maihaugen Open Air Museum in 1921. It is one of the most visited stave churches.

 

Garmo is a single-nave church with the nave and chancel are of equal width. The church may have had an external ambulatory (covered walkway around the church) until the 17^th century when the church underwent major reconstruction.

 

 

 

Garmo has a soaring steeple similar to the ones found topping Lom and Ringebu stave churches added in 1695. 

 

 

 

Garmo has a sprinkler system as do most stave churches. It is unobtrusively placed and does not in anyway detract from the appearance of the medieval structure.

 

 

The chancel arch is supported by wooden posts that have interesting carvings in good condition. These skurds (from Norwegian - decoration on wood beams in a church) often give the posts a sacred as well as a practical function.

 

 

The altarpiece from 1695, was for several centuries located in another Lillehammer church that was later demolished. The Last Supper is carved in a niche at the bottom of the altarpiece.

 

 

The 1730 pulpit, with carvings of the four gospel writers, is from a church in More og Romsdal.

 

The church has pew boxes that were added post-Reformation when the church services became longer. According to the college kids working as guides, the pew boxes were allotted in accordance with the prestige of the worshipers.

 

 

 

The alms box has scriptures and illustrations (quite humorous) entreating the parishioners to give.

 

Maihaugen is the largest open air museum in Norway and contains almost 200 buildings. The good thing is that it is located right in the town of Lillehammer and is within walking distance of the center of town. You might want to take a taxi there (up hill) and walk back (down hill). The town is filled with rows of late 19^th century wooden houses and is especially beautiful when the lilacs are in bloom.

 

Lillehammer is the Norwegian ski center in winter. It was the main venue for the 1994 Winter Olympics. In addition to skiing facilities (both cross country and down hill skiing), it has a bob sleigh trail and a hockey arena.

 

Lillehammer is 180 kilometers north of Oslo.