Kvernes Stave Church

Averøy, Norway

From ancient times Kvernes has been of great religious and cultural importance at Nordmøre. The excavation of a white phallus stone, a sacred symbol of fertility, supports this fact. The stave church was built around year 1300 and has a rather large main nave (16×7,5 m) with external diagonal props supporting the walls. Several repairs/reconstructions have been carried out. In 1633 the stave-built chancelwas torn down, and a new one erected in log construction. A baptistery was raised at the western end, windows were put in, and the chancel was decorated with painted scenes from the Bible. In the following decade, the nave and baptistery were decorated with acantus paintings. The vicar, Mr. Anders Ericsen (1603-62) paid all those expenses himself.

The king sold the church in 1725, and it was in private ownership until 1872 when it was bought by the parish. A new church was built in 1893, and the stave church was saved from demolition when Fortidsminneforeningen (The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments) bought it in 1896.

References:

Comments

Your name


Address

Fylkesveg 247 340, Averøy, Norway
See all sites in Averøy

Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Religious sites in Norway

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.stavechurch.com
www.visitkristiansund.com
www.averoy.kommune.no

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Rødven Stave Church (44 km)
Grip Stave Church (24,7 km)
Old Edøy Church (37,3 km)
Tingvoll Church (25,5 km)
Old Veøy Church (39,7 km)
Kulisteinen (37,3 km)

User Reviews

odin hansen smedbak (3 months ago)
It is okey. Guide was a rather young girl that did a great job. I am not a fan of stave churches. That being said. It is nothing wrong with it. It is just not that exciting and it takes under 10 minutes to see.
Anazagos Anna (16 months ago)
The church from outside looks average stave church, but the real beauty lies the interior. Beautifully painted walls and ceilings, all dated 4p0 yrs. back . A 'must see' place when you're nearby Kristiansund.
Dorschdy (17 months ago)
A really beautiful old church. Kinda easy to visit if you are on the way to the Atlantic Ocean Road. Definetly worth going there and paying the entry fee. Tusen takk også to the kjekk norsk jenta who gave a really refreshing recap of the history! Ha de fint sammen!
Sigurd Johnsen Setså (2 years ago)
Not really much to see. Unless you're already going past I wouldn't digress from your itinerary to see this. It's a perfectly average church with some history behind it.
Simon Carter (2 years ago)
This is a very impressive old wooden church with a long history and a beautiful interior, painted and decorated over hundreds of years. It feels both old and intimate somehow, part of the warp and weft of the community it has served over these many, many years. I would love to visit without a couple of coach loads of fellow tourists but it was not to be this time. We were given a presentation by two charming young women in cloaks, who explained in excellent Norwegian, English and German to this gaggle of disparate Hurtigruten passenger nationalities, all about this lovely building. The location of this church and the new one nearby has a superb outlook over a wide panorama of fields, fjords and mountains. It is important when visiting that you do pause for a moment and look where you are. An interesting and rewarding visit. Thank you to the two young women who did such a great job and waved us off, full of smiles.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights
Photo from Flickr, copyright Ana Paula Hirama

Historic Site of the week

Holy Trinity Column

The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc is a Baroque monument built in 1716–1754 in honour of God. The main purpose was a spectacular celebration of Catholic Church and faith, partly caused by feeling of gratitude for ending a plague, which struck Moravia between 1713 and 1715. The column was also understood to be an expression of local patriotism, since all artists and master craftsmen working on this monument were Olomouc citizens, and almost all depicted saints were connected with the city of Olomouc in some way. The column is the biggest Baroque sculptural group in the Czech Republic. In 2000 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

The column is dominated by gilded copper sculptures of the Holy Trinity accompanied by the Archangel Gabriel on the top and the Assumption of the Virgin beneath it.

The base of the column, in three levels, is surrounded by 18 more stone sculptures of saints and 14 reliefs in elaborate cartouches. At the uppermost stage are saints connected with Jesus’ earth life – his mother’s parents St. Anne and St. Joachim, his foster-father St. Joseph, and St. John the Baptist, who was preparing his coming – who are accompanied by St. Lawrence and St. Jerome, saints to whom the chapel in the Olomouc town hall was dedicated. Three reliefs represent the Three theological virtues Faith, Hope, and Love.

Below them, the second stage is dedicated to Moravian saints St. Cyril and St. Methodius, who came to Great Moravia to spread Christianity in 863, St. Blaise, in whose name one of the main Olomouc churches is consecrated, and patrons of neighbouring Bohemia St. Adalbert of Prague and St. John of Nepomuk, whose following was very strong there as well.

In the lowest stage one can see the figures of an Austrian patron St. Maurice and a Bohemian patron St. Wenceslas, in whose names two important Olomouc churches were consecrated, another Austrian patron St. Florian, who was also viewed as a protector against various disasters, especially fire, St. John of Capistrano, who used to preach in Olomouc, St. Anthony of Padua, a member of the Franciscan Order, which owned an important monastery in Olomouc, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a patron of students. His sculpture showed that Olomouc was very proud of its university. Reliefs of all twelve apostles are placed among these sculptures.

The column also houses a small chapel inside with reliefs depicting Cain's offering from his crop, Abel's offering of firstlings of his flock, Noah's first burnt offering after the Flood, Abraham's offering of Isaac and of a lamb, and Jesus' death. The cities of Jerusalem and Olomouc can be seen in the background of the last mentioned relief.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2021 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.