Uvdal Stave Church
Encyclopedia
Uvdal Stave Church is situated at Uvdal
in Nore and Uvdal municipality
, which is in the valley Numedal
in Norway
. The stave church
was originally constructed just after the year 1168, which we know through dendrochronological dating
of the pine tree
used during the construction. The logs were not completely dry when the construction took place.
excavation that took place during 1978. Churches made during the 12th century were usually very small, perhaps no more than 40 square meters in its footprint. They were therefore often expanded, even during the Middle Ages
and certainly just before and after the Reformation
, which took place during 1537 in Norway.
The nave of the church was first expanded to the west during the Middle Ages, when the original apse of chancel was also removed and the chancel itself elongated. Again, during that period, an extra center column was added to construction. The chancel was torn down again in 1684, when a new and wider chancel was made. This had the same width as the nave. Then, during the period 1721–1723, the church was made into cruciform. A new ridge turret had to be made, to fit the new cruciform. Later, in 1819, a new vestry was added to the north wall of the chancel.
Uvdal
Uvdal is a village and former municipality in Buskerud county, Norway.The municipality was created by a split from Nore on 1 January 1901. The new municipality, which was called Opdal at the time, had a population of 1,429. The name was changed to Uvdal on 22 January 1932 by royal resolution...
in Nore and Uvdal municipality
Nore og Uvdal
Nore og Uvdal is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rødberg....
, which is in the valley Numedal
Numedal
Numedal is a traditional district and valley Buskerud, Norway. Running north–south, it extends between Kongsberg in the south to Rødberg in the north, passing through the municipalities of Kongsberg, Flesberg, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal.. The river Numedalslågen, the third-longest in the country,...
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The stave church
Stave church
A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction related to timber framing. The wall frames are filled with vertical planks. The load-bearing posts have lent their name to the building technique...
was originally constructed just after the year 1168, which we know through dendrochronological dating
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
of the pine tree
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
used during the construction. The logs were not completely dry when the construction took place.
Construction history
The church was made on top of the remains of previous church on the site, thought to have been made with the use of imbedded corner column technology during the turn of the 11th century. This we know from an archeologicalArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
excavation that took place during 1978. Churches made during the 12th century were usually very small, perhaps no more than 40 square meters in its footprint. They were therefore often expanded, even during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and certainly just before and after the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, which took place during 1537 in Norway.
The nave of the church was first expanded to the west during the Middle Ages, when the original apse of chancel was also removed and the chancel itself elongated. Again, during that period, an extra center column was added to construction. The chancel was torn down again in 1684, when a new and wider chancel was made. This had the same width as the nave. Then, during the period 1721–1723, the church was made into cruciform. A new ridge turret had to be made, to fit the new cruciform. Later, in 1819, a new vestry was added to the north wall of the chancel.