Dendrochronological testing of the staves shows that the timber was felled in about 1180. The church has long been a tourist attraction. As long ago as 1721 it was described as ”an old and extraordinarily special stave building”. A model of the church was exhibited at the World Fair in Paris in 1889. It is now in the Musée National des Techniques and shows the church as it was before the restoration towards the end of the 19th century.

The bell tower

We can also find the special wall construction that was typical of the stave churches in certain other buildings. The free standing bell tower beside Borgund stave church is an example. Such bell towers were common, but this is the only one still standing today.

There is a permanent exhibition about stave churches in the visitor centre, showing how they were built and used and how most have disappeared. Read more here.

Borgund stave church is set in a landscape that has traces of habitation from before the time of the stave church. In 1023 King Olav - later Saint Olav - travelled up the valley to bring Christianity to the farmers of Valdres. Sverrestigen passes the church too. This is the path King Sverre is supposed to have used in 1177, when he crossed the mountains with his Birkebeiner warriors. Behind the church lies the original thoroughfare between east and west. Sverrestigen, a bridle path, is part of the first king’s highway between east and west Norway and served as the main thoroughfare until 1792, when it was replaced by the Vindhella road. During the 1840s, the Vindhella road was renovated, with high foundation walls and hairpin bends up the slope. Captain Finne from Voss led the works; it was said of him that he built too many foundation walls and blasted too little. This can certainly be seen in the road construction for which he was responsible.

Walking the old roads takes about 2 hours. You can find information about them in the visitor centre.

Leaving the stave church, you can continue the route along the old road that is now named the Historic Route. Taking this road by the Sjurhaugfoss falls, you might see a salmon leap if you’re lucky and a little further down you pass the ancient smallholding of Galdane on the slopes across the river. The farm was finally abandoned in 1947.

The route continues to Lærdal. The old part of Lærdal had its golden age from the 1830s onward, when it was an important centre, where the people of Sogn and Bergen met and traded with those from Valdres and Hallingdal. The river and its salmon fishing have long been important to Lærdal. You can find their history at the Norwegian Wild Salmon Centre. Read more about Lærdal here.