Ann
Some of the Norwegian stave churches seem kind of … just like any wooden building. Like Urnes.
Until you see its decor.
A couple of years ago I was driving around Lusterfjorden, early September and just looking at a landscape I didnt really know. And suddenly, as it happens, I saw a sign to Ornes. It reminded me of something, I just couldn’t place it. So, I drove on and ended up at a ferry quay. The sky was blue, the water green, the trees in all colurs of autumn, and in the distance I saw a peninsula and maybe a … really, could this be Urnes, the most famous of all the Norwegian stave churches?
Being late in season I had to do a longer hike while waiting for the not-so-frequent ferry to the other side of the fjord. I was totally alone. Everything was closed, the cafe, the toilets, the tourist information, the church itself - it was just me and this UNESCO monument.
Urnes is the oldest of the stave churches we have left in Norway, approx. 1130, and it might be an even older church beneath it.
Urnes has given name to its own decorative style, and, yes, there are dragons. I am not sure if this is keeping Christ awake at night.
The style is found in Denmark, the British islands and Ireland.
I still have this happy/hot/excited/unbelivable feeling inside me thinking back at this day.
Taking the ferry back I shared it with farmers and their apples. This is The Apple Country of Norway.
#ornes
#urnes
#vestlandet
#norge
#norway
#stavkyrkje
#UNESCO
#arkitektur
#architecture
#bygning
#kirke
#church
#landscape
#lusterfjorden
#skjolden
Wood is the Nordic language
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