Hopperstad Stave Church

Hopperstad was built around 1130 and was abandoned in 1877 in very poor condition; the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments bought it in 1880 and the architect Peter Andreas Blix reconstructed it between 1884 and 1891, 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 fourteenth-century baldachin canopy by the altar of the Virgin Mary, its roof painted with the birth of Christ. The church stands on a slope above Vik with the fjord below; the stone Hove church of about 1170 is nearby.

History

The earliest written record of the church dates from 1322, and post holes found in 1982 point to an earlier church on the site, possibly from around 1060. Abandoned in 1877, it was bought in 1880 by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments, which still owns it, and Peter Andreas Blix reconstructed it between 1884 and 1891 using Borgund Stave Church as a model; a replica was dedicated in Moorhead, Minnesota, in 1998 (Wikipedia, Hopperstad Stave Church).

What you'll find

• The painted baldachin - a rare fourteenth-century canopy by the altar of the Virgin Mary.
• The carved portals - medieval doorway ornament in the stave tradition.
• The Blix restoration - 1884-1891 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.

Before you go

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.

Key facts