Lost Art Press

Viking Woodworking

Posted on by fitz

I really shouldn’t write about stave churches. First off, it’s really way too much for a blog post. Second, I’m not an expert. I’m just an awestruck fan. Also, there are doctoral theses, documentaries, articles, research projects, books, lectures, artworks and chock-full web pages that you can scroll through that will tickle your fancy for medieval woodworking. You can also find stave churches in our folklore and even fairy tales if you prefer a more mythical perspective. Then again, who needs all that when you have the Lost Art Press blog and a mediocre Norwegian chairmaker to tell you all about them? It’s just woodworking, after all!

  • Heddal Stave Church, built ca. 1150. This is Norway’s largest stave church. Built by trolls, according to local myths.

I’m joking of course. I’m a complete moron compared to the people that built the stave churches. These buildings are all unique woodworking wonders that put on display some of the most incredible craftsmanship that existed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Along with our Viking ships, the stave churches are by far Norway’s largest and most important contribution to the World Heritage Sites. So if you ever come to Norway, forget about brown cheese and the midnight sun. Go to church instead!

  • Eidsborg Stave Church. Built ca. 1250.

A Brief History of Something Very Old

Research estimates that during the Middle Ages (ca. years 500-1500), somewhere between 1,500 to 2,000 stave churches were built in Norway. They were probably also common throughout other parts of Northern Europe. However today there are only 30 left in the world. And 28 of them are in Norway. The other two are the Hedared Stave Church in Sweden and Vang Stave Church in Poland. The latter was built in the village of Vang, Norway, about 1150. In 1842 it was taken apart and transported to Poland, where it was rebuilt. And remember, this was before U-Haul.

The construction of stave churches abruptly ended in the 1400s. Most of them disappeared during the period from 1350-1650, possibly due to the Black Plague and the Protestant Reformation. The 28 churches left in Norway were all built somewhere between 1150 and 1350.

The reconstructed Fantoft Stave Church from 1997. Originally built in 1150, but was set on fire by satanic worshippers in 1992. It burned to the ground in just 30 minutes. The church was rebuilt as an exact replica, using 400 year old pine. Photo by Diego Delso, license CC-BY-SA

The name “stave church” derives from the wooden posts that were the load-bearing elements in these timber frame constructions. These posts were placed vertically on top of sleepers (horizontal beams) that were clamped between corners and larger posts that were placed into the ground. On top of the posts, new beams were placed. This created frames that were completed with raised boards. In the Old Norse language, a post in a timber frame construction was called a “stafr.” The name since evolved into the word “stav,” which is used today and means the same.

  • All photos: Main staves (out of 20) in the Heddal Stave Church.
  • Octagonal stave repaired with bowties.

Picking Perfect Pine

Pine (Pinus sylvestris) has always been abundant in Norway. In dense forest they grow straight and tall, and usually with few branches along the stem. This made them perfect for Viking ships and stave churches. On top of these attributes, the Vikings were also extremely picky about the trees they used. They had a deep knowledge of how to exploit and even manipulate the trees into becoming perfect for their intended use.

They did this by first picking slow-growing mountain pines, often in the range of 200-300 years old. These trees had a much larger amount of heartwood, with very little space between the growth rings. They were then debranched and had their top cut off, before they were left standing for another 15-20 years. The resin then seeped into the heartwood and saturated it completely. The result was a highly resinous and dense heartwood. This is called ore-pine and is virtually rot-resistant. All the stave churches were built using this technique. The ore-pine was preferred for the main staves and beams, the wall boards and the roof tiles. Ore-pine is still widely used today in Norway in house construction and other areas.

  • Here I’m holding a cross section of Norwegian ore-pine, showing the distinct transition between resinous heartwood and the sapwood.
  • Cross section of nearly 300 years old mountain pine. Notice the very compact growth. The line marks 200 years. Please excuse my pale legs for also looking centuries old.

Another ancient Scandinavian tradition is the use of pine tar for protecting wood against harsh weather conditions. The tar was made by stacking highly resinous pine heartwood under an airtight cover of clay and other materials, and then lighting the wood on fire. After burning for up to two days, the wood was decomposed into charcoal and pine tar. This was then smeared onto the stave churches to further prevent them against rot.

By Hand & Axe

No one really knows who built the stave churches and where they learned their craft. The distinct style is also up for debate. Some think they came to life during a period of cultural vacuum here in the north. Others believe that they are a result of imported traditions and culture from Europe. Some have argued that the stave churches are inspired by the Roman basilicas. Others again thought they sprung out of the old heathen hofs, which was the Old Norse term for pagan temples. While others insisted that they were built by trolls and other mythical creatures. I’m pretty sure someone will soon claim that Hillary Clinton and a bunch of aliens were the ones who really built them.

What we do know is that the churches were without nails and mostly without wooden pegs as well. Even the roof shingles were often laid without the use of pegs or nails. While some early stave churches had board roofs that were pegged, most churches built after year 1200 had tar-covered roof shingles. Using tar-covered shingles on outer walls was also a common practice.

  • A typical roof shingle.
  • Eidsborg Stave Church. Roof and walls with tar covered shingles.
  • Detail from Eidsborg Stave Church. Tiled outer wall.
  • Pine tar covered roof shingles on Heddal Stave Church.

The skilled people who built our stave churches used a wide range of tools. The most important were different types of axes, augers, plumb bobs and a set of tools that I really don’t know the English words for – the pjål, the skavl and the skjøve. While that may sound like the Norwegian title of a famous movie starring Clint Eastwood, I assure you it’s not. The pjål, also called veggskave (wall scraper) was a an edge tool fastened onto a long wooden shaft and was used two-handed in a scraping action along the wall boards to joint them and smooth axe marks. There were also special types of pjåls that were used for more ornamental shaping. The pjål probably came in many sizes and shapes.

  • Pjål or veggskave. Approx. 25″ long.
    © Digitalt Museum. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
  • The skavl was a smaller, two handed tool that looks like what we today know as a scorp. Used for shaping, scraping, hollowing and detail work. © Digitalt Museum. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
The skjøve is similar to what we today know as a travisher, used for hollowing, smoothing out curved areas and general shaping and planing. © Digitalt Museum. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Besides some technical and architectural variations, the stave churches are generally similar in both construction and ornamentation. Each church has portals decorated with carvings, some more than others. A common theme in these carvings is fighting dragons, lions and intricate vines. Researchers argue whether this iconography is pagan or not. The carvings do not have any direct biblical references. Despite this, some think that the iconography is a pagan interpretation of Christianity, which was a new thing during the time many of the churches were built. Norway was Christianized around year 1020. In any case, they are extremely impressive. In addition to the portals, there are intricate carvings and detailed decorations to be found all over the churches’ interiors, the staves themselves, walls and all around the churches.

Where Did They Go?

So, if the church builders were this meticulous about making the churches resistant against Norway´s rainy and cold coastal climate, why did so many of the stave churches disappear? According to the experts, most of them were taken down in order to build larger churches to house more people as the population grew. Fires, avalanches, storms and general decay were other reasons. In 1650, Norway had 270 stave churches left. Around 1800, the number was 95.

In 2001 most of the stave churches were in a bad state, so the Norwegian government started funding a project to renovate and preserve them better. The 28 left today are in good shape. They´re all open to visitors and some of them are still being used for religious services, weddings, funerals and other ceremonies.

So, unless you´re a satanic arsonist, suffer from ecclesiophobia or are afraid of trolls and Vikings, please come visit our stave churches. We need more woodworking tourists to counter all the ones that just want to take a fjord selfie.

– Klaus Skrudland

64 thoughts on “Viking Woodworking”

  2. Klaus, thanks very much for this post, very interesting. Heddal, at least, seems to have slanted exterior walls. Do you have any idea why?

    1. Steve, I’m very happy to hear that! About the slanted walls – I’m not sure they really are slanted. If by that you mean that they’re at an angle. It might just be the photo that makes it look this way. I checked a lot of other photos of the church and they don’t look slanted there. Let me know if I misunderstood you here.

        2. I think so. I took the photo myself with my phone. It’s probably a lens distortion..

  3. Would these have originally had straw or thatched roofs? I recall reading somewhere the steep roof was necessary to shed water from a thatched roof. That shingled roofing material was a later, more impervious construction technique which allowed for lower roof angles.

    1. Hey, Jacob! Let me start by saying that I’m not an expert. But form what I’ve read and studied, straw roofs and thatched roofs have never been very common in Norway. Roofs with wooden shingles is known to have been used on churches since around 1200. That said, some of the churches were built over 200 years before this, and there are speculations that a few of them might have had sod roofs. This a traditional green roof covered with sod on top of layers of birch bark.

      Ï’m sure shingled roofs would allow for lower angle roofs, but I can’t confirm your theory. What I do know is that the wooden shingle technique become common around the time that most of the stave churches were built. It was probably also used on profane buildings.

    1. Thank you! I’ve read about that church. Pretty ambitious and awesome project!! I was going to mention it in this article, but it slipped my mind.

  7. We enjoyed your post. Our family will be visiting Norway next spring. Hope we will be able to see some of these churches. There is a replica of a Stave Church in Rapid City South Dakota that we visited several times when we lived there. For those of you in the Midwest well worth the visit.

    1. Thank you so much! And welcome to Norway! These churches are widespread across the middle and south parts of Norway. Some of them are also not far from each other. The most visited is probably the Urnes Stave Church. The largest one is Heddal. And yes, I’ve heard about that Dakota church. What an insane (but awesome) project!

  8. Was in Norway a couple of years ago and saw / toured one of these. The pictures in this article don’t do justice to how big and beautiful they truly are. Norway is an amazing place. When you are comfortable traveling again, really consider visiting. And the fjords are cool but the hundreds of waterfalls and tunnels will blow your mind.

  9. Was in Norway a couple of years ago and saw / toured one of these. The pictures in this article don’t do justice to how big and beautiful they truly are. Norway is an amazing place. When you are comfortable traveling again, really consider visiting. And the fjords are cool but the hundreds of waterfalls and tunnels will blow your mind.

  10. If anyone is near Rapid City South Dakota, look up the Chapel In The Hills. Exact replica of the Borgund Stavkirche in Laerdal, Norway. Built in 1969. Built by Norwegians.

  12. I got a chance to see the Gold Stave church in Oslo about 15 years ago. It was really neat and impressive. Now I want to go back and visit more of Norway.

    I didn’t know about ore-pine. That is fascinating.

  13. I had to google the Gold Stave Church, but you probably mean “Gol”, which is the name of the village where the church is. Not far from Oslo. Very cool that you’ve been there! I haven’t been to that one yet, but it’s on my list! And yes, ore-pine is pretty fascinating stuff! It is still used extensively here in house construction and other areas of woodworking.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gol_Stave_Church

  17. We had plane tickets and were on our way to visit a few stave churches when covid hit. Still on our list of Norwegian woodworking to see. (Also disappointed that the Viking Ship Museum will be closed for the next few years.)

    Great post, and appreciate the photos.

    1. Thanks a lot, Ken! Ironically, I had a plane ticket to Covington, KY when the pandemic hit. I hope you’ll be able to travel over here very soon. I didn’t know that the Viking Ship Museum is being closed, but I checked now and you’re right. It’s actually being closed for 5 years until 2025…! There are other viking museums though, but not with huge ships like this one. There’s this one for instance, in the north of Norway: https://www.lofotr.no/en/

  19. Klaus, in the last photo, of the Umes church, there is a water feature in the background. Is that a fjord by any chance? I’m looking for examples to show my wife. And this is such a nice one with a pre-Reformation church in the foreground. Great post, by the way.

      1. Not a problem, Klaus. Thanks for the confirmation and the link to the map. It seems to be quite a long fjord, judging by the map. Will now show the wife.

  20. thx for the post Klaus! too bad it seems there aren’t any up north. me lady and I were up in Senja a couple of years back. couldn’t find any trolls either!

    1. Well, if you’ve been to Senja, you’ve at least been to one of the prettiest and most breathtaking places in Norway! I haven’t been there myself, actually. Happy you liked the post!

  21. great post Klaus! too bad it seems there aren’t any up north. was in Senja a couple of years back with me lady. no trolls to be found either!

    1. Indeed! Very cool project! I’ve commented on it above in the comments. Thanks!

    1. Hey! Sorry for the late answer. Many of these churches, except a few like Heddal which is huge, are quite small and don’t have organs. Some have though, and these were of course installed much later. There is at least one quite old pipe organ in a stave church (Reinli Stave Church). I think it’s from around 1790.

  25. This might be a dumb question from a dumb Englishman, but I’m interested to know why there are so few stave churches in Sweden, compared to Norway. Is it a cultural thing? A feature of the peninsular’s geography? Its trees, or lack of them? I know that there’s rivalry between Norwegians and Swedes (“deep down, the Swedes are good people”), but ethnically they’re the same, and their languages are said to be mutually understandable. And until the beginning of the last century the two countries were one. So why only one stave church in Sweden now?

    1. Hey! A very good question. I’ve been wondering the same, and from what I’ve found there are more speculations than answers. There are archeological finds of stave churches, often at sites where later stone churches have been built. There is an enourmous abundance of trees, also pine, in Sweden too, so that can’t be it. From what I understand, there are 14 churches to this date, that is known to have been built at sites that previously had a stave church.

      And to be precise: There ARE more than one stave church in Sweden today. I think there’s around seven, but many of these are built in more modern times. The one at Hedared which I mention in this article, stands where it was built around year 1000 and is considered an “original” stave church.

      There is a written historical record from a historian that visited the region of Skåne in the south of Sweden in year 1000. He recorded over 300 churches only in this region. Some of them were probably stave churches, but how many is unknown.

      So, to sum up, I don’t know the answer.

      And yes, we’re ethnically the same. And yes, we were in union with Sweden until 1905. You’ve done your homework. I love the swedes! They’re almost as cool as us!

  26. May i have a precision here, please:

    What we do know is that the churches were without nails and mostly without wooden pegs as well. Even the roof shingles were often laid without the use of pegs or nails. While some early stave churches had board roofs that were pegged, most churches built after year 1200 had tar-covered roof shingles. Using tar-covered shingles on outer walls was also a common practice.

    May i know more exactly how the roof shingles where fixed? Just by the pine tarr ..?

    1. Hey! thanks for your comment. I have to be honest and tell you that I am not sure how they did this. The tar though, is on the outside and the roofs were (and are still today) regularly painted with tar every other year. The only thing I can think of is that I’ve read somewhere they were laid in the same way as ceramic roof tiles, which is also very common here. They’ve got a lip that’s hooked onto a board. To sum it up: Sorry, I don’t know!

  27. Fiord Selfie. I literally physically rolled on the floor laughing uncontrollably. Thank you.

  28. For those of Central European perusasion, there is an (almost) authentic norwegian church in southern Poland as well – see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vang_Stave_Church
    And also there are traditional wooden churches – usually smaller and simpler, but still often purely wooden, built with pegs along the ridge of the Carpathian mountains both in my home country of Slovakia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_churches_of_the_Slovak_Carpathians as well as in neighbouring Poland and maybe elsewhere. What’s more, these are most often in Byzantine rite (Orthodox or Greek Catholic), so there are also wooden icons on wooden iconostasis etc… I highly recommend a tour of them.

    1. Hey, Andrej! The Vang stave church IS authentic. It was originally built in Vang and then moved to Poland. I’ve mentioned it in the article above here.

      And yes, there are many awesome and old wooden churches in Europe. Some of them also resemble stave churches, although they don’t use the actual stave technique. I would LOVE to come see the churches of the Slovak Carpathians. I’ve been in that area, but unfortunately this was a time long before my interest for stave churches came to life. Thank you!

  29. Amazon Prime has fairly decent doco on Stave Churches (good amount of wood shown): 1 episode in World’s Greatest Churches series. Under Amazon Canada you have to sign up for their Great Courses channel to get that – free for 1st 30 days.

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