Undredal Stave Church


Undredal Stave Church is a parish church in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Undredal, on the shore of the Aurlandsfjorden. It is the church for the Undredal parish which is part of the Sogn prosti in the Diocese of Bjørgvin. The white, wooden church was built in a stave church style around the year 1147.
The church is only and has only 40 seats, making it the smallest stave church still in use in all of Scandinavia. The parish only includes one small, rather isolated valley, with only 116 parishioners, making it the second smallest parish in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

History

Undredal Stave Church was built in the middle of the 12th century, probably the year 1147. The church has been moved from different locations and reconstructed a few times. Around 1850, the building was extended to the west with the addition of a belltower and porch. In 1913, there were plans to dismantle the church and move it to a museum in the village of Kaupanger, but this never happened. Instead it was reconstructed in 1984 and underwent extensive maintenance work. Inside the church, the ceiling is decorated with biblical figures and angels.

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