Kvernes Stave Church

Kvernes stands on a low headland facing the sea on the island of Averoy, and it is the northernmost surviving stave church in Norway. Dating has been debated: it was long assigned to around 1300, but dendrochronology in the 2010s suggested the standing structure is largely from the seventeenth century, incorporating older elements, which changed how it is described. The interior is the reason to go, densely painted with seventeenth and eighteenth-century decoration on walls and ceiling, with a rood screen, a carved altarpiece and painted galleries. A new church was built alongside in 1893, which is why the old one survived unaltered. The Atlantic Road runs a few kilometres away along the same coast.

What you actually see

• The painted interior - dense seventeenth and eighteenth-century decoration.
• The rood screen - a carved partition unusual in surviving stave churches.
• The coastal setting - a headland facing the sea on Averoy.
• The 1893 church - the replacement standing beside the old building.

When to go

May to September, the seasonal opening period; outside it the exterior and churchyard can be seen but the interior is locked. The Atlantic Road nearby makes it an easy addition to that drive.

Honest expectations

Opening is seasonal with short hours and closures for services. The building's dating is contested, so descriptions vary between sources. The interior is small and the visit takes under an hour.

Nearby

The Atlantic Road is a few kilometres away; Kristiansund and Bud lie either side of the coast.