Urnes

Urnes Stave Church, 1130, Sogn

 

Photographed 2011

 

Urnes Stave Church can be described with superlatives: it’s the oldest stave church, it is one of the best preserved, it’s architectural detail has the most to reveal about the skill of the craftsmen who built such churches, it has the most famous woodcarving in all of Norway, it contains the most pre-medieval liturgical treasures, it’s probably the most difficult to get to, and it is the only stave church registered as a UNESCO World Heritage sight.

The church is located high above Luster Fjord (an arm of Sogn Fjord). A bit of the fjord can be seen on the right and the famous carved panels (on the north exterior wall of the church) can be seen to the left in photo. 

 

Having read extensively about them and having seen various reproductions, it was a thrill to finally see the famous carved portals located on the exterior north wall of the church (they are from a previous church on the same site and probably date from 1050). How can it be that these exquisite carvings depicting mythical beasts are a thousand years old? How many loving hands must have cared for them over the centuries!

The church interior has a distinguishing feature in that the 16 capitals (tops of the 16 interior staves) are carved on 3 sides – making a total of 48 carvings of various motifs and subjects. The church interior also contains several pre-Reformation items. The rood with three carved figures depicting Calvary (from the 12^th century) is unique. Cloisonné candlesticks, probably from the 13^th century, are found on the church altar.

It took me two attempts to reach the church. In the summer of 2010, I didn’t allow enough time to catch the ferry, see the church, return on the ferry and catch my bus back to Oslo to make my plane home. In the summer of 2011, I finally made it and felt a great sense of accomplishment.

There are two ways to get to Urnes: one option is tiring; the other is scary. The first involves taking a small ferry from the tiny, picturesque town of Solvorn. Upon reaching the Urnes side, it is a steep, steep climb if you are on foot (maybe a kilometer) up to the church. If you are traveling by car and there is room for your car on the small ferry, you are lucky. The other way to reach Urnes is by driving there from Skjolden, a town located at the northern tip of Luster Fjord. One must drive for some 30 kilometers on a mostly one lane road above the fjord that does not have space for two cars to pass each other. When faced with an oncoming car, one of the two drivers must back up to a place where the shoulder has been extended.  Norwegians are quite adept at this maneuver. Let’s hope tourists can get the hang of it.

Urnes is owned and well maintained by the Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments.