Gol new Stave Church (replica)

The Stave Church visible from road 7 near Gol is not a medieval church, but a replica built in 1994. The original stave church from Gol was moved to Norwegian Museum of Cultural History (Norsk Folkemuseum) in the 1880s.

The original stave church in Gol was built in late 12^th/early 13^th century. After 600 years of service, it was decided to build a new church in 1880. The old one had to go. It was no longer in prime condition. Luckily, the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments (Fortidsminneforeningen), saved it from demolition and bought the materials. Later, in 1884, King Oscar II re-built it in Oslo in his own private out-door museum.

In 1994, a modern church was erected in Gol as a tourist attraction in a theme park in central Gol. This replica is located at some distance from the original site of the medieval church. There is also a replica in the Scandinavian Heritage Park in Minot, North Dakota and at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World in Florida.