Not far down the road is St. Olav's church, built in 1897 in the old stave style. But it's a youngster compared to several other wooden churches in the area.
Norway is famous for its wooden stave churches. We wanted to see the one in nearby Vik, but had to brave another ferry to get there. At least this time it wasn't raining and the ride was comfortable.
The Hopperstad Stave church did not disappoint. It's one of the oldest stave churches still standing, built around 1130. It underwent a significant restoration back in the 1880's.
When we first arrived, we counted no less than six tour buses. However, after waiting patiently for about 45 minutes, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We had plenty of time to explore the interior before the next tour group showed up.
There's a really impressive carved baldachin inside. The colorful paint on the canopy has been preserved through the centuries.
We were glad the rain let up enough for us to enjoy our time here at Hopperstad. It did start to drizzle as we were getting ready to walk back to the ferry dock, but somehow the rain just makes the church look more imposing. After surviving the elements for nearly a thousand years what's one more rain shower, right?
Impressive architecture. Looks like there should be gnomes nearby.
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