Uvdal Stave Church

Uvdal stave church was built around 1168 as a simple single-nave building and enlarged over the following centuries into a cross plan, and its interest lies almost entirely inside: nearly every surface of the walls and ceiling carries painted decoration applied between 1656 and the early eighteenth century, in dense floral and figurative patterns typical of Norwegian rose painting scaled up to fill a church. A single free-standing central post from the original structure survives in the nave. The building stands in the Numedal valley, which markets itself as the medieval valley for the number of surviving buildings along it, including four stave churches and a large number of medieval log houses.

What you actually see

• The painted interior - walls and ceiling covered in seventeenth-century decoration.
• The central post - a surviving free-standing stave from the original build.
• The cross plan - the enlarged shape formed over several centuries.
• The Numedal setting - a valley with an unusual density of medieval buildings.

When to go

May to September, when the church and the adjoining open-air museum are open; hours are limited and the church closes for services. The Numedal valley drive works well as a full-day route.

Honest expectations

The church is small and the visit short. Photography inside may be restricted to protect the painting. Opening is seasonal only, and the valley's other medieval buildings keep similarly limited hours.

Nearby

The Uvdal open-air museum is beside the church; Nore stave church and the Numedal valley run south.