Norway's oldest Stave Church

The ground under the Urnes stave church is sinking, and this national treasure in Sognefjord has begun to sink at its northern end.

During the summer of 2008, researchers from NTNU worked to determine how much the church could be lifted and stabilized without beeing ruined. At the same time, dendrochronologist Terje Thun took tree ring samples from the oldest wood. The samples confirm that the chruch was erected over a longer period in the 1130's.

At the same time it was shown that a portion of the church, - including the northern wall, with its spectacular carvings, was actually recycled material from another church that previously stood at the same spot. The youngest of these timbers were felled around year 1070.

Based on the wood samples, it is concluded that The Urnes Stave Church is the oldest Norwegian Church that has been dated.