Hopperstad Stave Church

Hopperstad was built around 1130 and by the 1880s was in such poor condition that the parish had voted to pull it down; the architect Peter Andreas Blix bought it, restored it at his own expense and gave it to the nation, which is why it survives. His restoration was speculative in places, reconstructing dragon heads and roof lines from what he believed the original had been, and modern scholars treat some of it as invention. What is certainly medieval includes the frame, carved portals, and a rare painted baldachin canopy of around 1300 over a side altar, with scenes from the life of the Virgin. The church stands on a slope above Vik with the fjord below; the stone Hove church of about 1170 is nearby.

What you actually see

• The painted baldachin - a rare canopy of about 1300 over a side altar.
• The carved portals - medieval doorway ornament in the stave tradition.
• The Blix restoration - 1880s reconstruction of roofs and dragon heads.
• The fjord setting - the church above Vik with the Sognefjord below.

When to go

May to September, the seasonal opening period; the exterior can be seen year-round. Weekday mornings avoid the coach traffic that comes off the fjord ferries.

Honest expectations

Parts of what visitors see are a nineteenth-century interpretation rather than medieval fabric. Opening is seasonal with limited hours. The church is small and the visit takes under an hour.

Nearby

Hove stone church is a few minutes away; Vangsnes, the Sognefjord ferry and Balestrand lie across the water.