Hove Church was built around the year 1170. Historians believe it was built by a great man who belonged to the very upper echelon within the Norwegian aristocracy. They say he had built this as a private chapel. It's a small church with seating for only about 35 people.
Peter Andreas Blix was an architect who bought the run down church in 1880, and he restored the church from 1883-1888. Blix's goal was to finish the stone church to its original conditions. Soapstone for repairing the walls were brought from the old soapstone quarry in the municipality. Just as when he renovated the nearby Hopperstad Stave Church, Blix removed all the fixtures that were not from the Middle Ages. On the exterior Blix built up a large stone tower on the old base of the tower (it had been a wooden tower from 1600 until the 1880s). It is uncertain whether the church had a wood or a stone tower originally.
Blix died in 1901 and he is buried under the floor of the church. He owned the church until his death, and bequeathed it to his brother who then gave it to the state. The church is still owned by the state, and it is administered by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments. It is no longer regularly used by the parish, but it can be used for special occasions such as weddings or funerals.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.