Hedalen stave church

Hedalen stave church is probably built sometime between 1150 and 1200, but the first reference to it is in 1327. The original church was a much smaller single nave church. The west entrance remains from the original church. The front portal is one of the oldest and most richly ornamented in the country. It takes the form of three winged dragons, one on each side of the arch and pilasters of the entrance and one above, all elaborately intertwined in a tendril and leaf pattern.

The remodelling and expansion of original building into a cruciform church is believed to have been completed in 1699, although some sources claim 1738. Restoration work was done during 1902 under direction of architect Carl Berner (1877–1943). During the restoration work, the previous sacristy was replaced with a new choir, and the new parts were enclosed in an ambulatory. This was a small reconstruction to add a new ridge turret (Norwegian: takrytter).

For bikers:
The road to get here is great! Recommended! If you are going north on E16 anyways, take road 243 from Nes on the way in, and road 2456 on the way out. 👍