A Reconstructed Norwegian Stave Church

Churches and cathedrals have never sent my soul soaring. Sure, the architecture is impressive, but I just don’t get a woody for rock like I do for … wood. Today we visited a twice-reconstructed Norwegian stave church outside Bergen, Norway, and I expected to be underwhelmed by Fantoft.

After all, the structure was rebuilt in the 1990s after it was burned down, perhaps by a death metal musician. And this 1990s building was a reconstruction of a structure from 1879, which was based on a structure in another town from 1150.

Instead, I was totally charmed. As I stood among the pews and looked up at the intricate timber-frame construction, I was inspired. Almost everything in the church is wood, from the gothic wooden shingles to the floor to the columns (whole tree trunks) to the creatures outside the church protecting it (perhaps from other death metal posers).

Tar, new and old

The exterior is covered in black tar. And it’s fascinating to see how it has aged. Some areas had been recently recovered (there we…