Flesberg Stave Church

Flesberg Stave Church (Nynorsk: Flesberg stavkyrkje) is a stave church located at Flesberg in Buskerud county, Norway. ^[1][2]

Flesberg Stave Church

History

Church and stone fence (Niels Hansen Bragernes from 1701)

Graveyard

Written sources mention the church the first time in 1359, but it was probably built in the latter half of the 1100s or the first half of the 1200s. The church was originally a single nave church (type B) with four free-standing internal posts bearing a raised central roof, surrounded by an ambulatory or aisles on all four sides. It had a narrower chancel, also with a raised central roof, and a semicircular apse. It was surrounded by a gallery loosely connected to the plank walls.^[3]

In 1735, the chancel and apse, as well as the east wall of the nave, were removed. The nave was extended eastwards and two transepts were added, making a cruciform plan. The additions were built in horizontal log construction with notched corners. Portal planks are decorated with carved vines and animal ornamentation. Since few parts of the stave church are preserved, there are only scant remnants of its original decor. Of the original stave church, only three outer walls survived, as the internal posts and the raised roof were eliminated.^[4]

The churchyard is fenced with slate brought from Haukeli farm on the west bank of the Lågen River. Some slates have iron rings affixed; these rings were used to tether horses during service. Each farmer had a designated ring for his horse (the oldest dated ring from 1661). The idiosyncratic stone fence is shown on a 1701 painting (the oldest existing painting of a stave church). ^[5][6]

The interior of the church is characterized by the reconstruction of 1735. There are a few remains of medieval furnishings. There is a decorated lion and a lionhead that also originates in the Middle Ages. Underneath the whitewashed walls, decorative paintings from the Middle Ages were uncovered.^[7][8]

Gallery

• 
  Portal
• 
  Portal detail
• 
  Choir and pulpit
• 
  Pulpit detail
• 
  Nave and organ
• 
  Chandelier
• 
  Designated benches with names and numbers
• 
  Surrounding slate fence
• 
  Iron ring on slate
• 
  Horse field

References

1. "Stavkirke". lokalhistoriewiki.no. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
2. Nina Aldin Thune. "Flesberg stavkirke". Store norske leksikon. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
3. Jørgen H. Jensenius. "Flesberg. Flesberg kommune, Buskerud fylke". Stavkirke.info. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
4. "Flesberg stavkirke". Den Norske Kirke. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
5. Oluf Rygh. "Haukeli I Flesberg. Flesberg herad. Buskeruds amt". Norske Gaardnavne. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
6. "Flesberg stavkirke". Kunsthistorie. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
7. "Flesberg kirke". Numedalskommunene. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
8. "Flesberg stavkirke". historieboka.no. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.

Related reading

• Leif Anker (2005) The Norwegian Stave Churches (Oslo: Arfo Forlag) ISBN 978-8291399294
• Roar Hauglid (1970) Norwegian Stave Churches (Oslo: Dreyers Forlag) ISBN 978-8209106020

External links

• Flesberg Stave Church, Directorate for Cultural Heritage – in Norwegian
• Flesberg Stave Church in Stavkirke.org Archived 13 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine – in Norwegian
• Flesberg Stave Church in a video about churches in Numedal – in English

59.858°N 9.425°E / 59.858; 9.425