Heddal Stave Church

The largest of the twenty-eight stave churches left in Norway, built entirely of Scots pine around 1200 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Load-bearing staves carry the triple nave off a stone foundation, with short and full-length posts alternated inside to stiffen the frame, and the chancel keeps six free masts. Four of the ribbon-interlaced portals survive more or less intact. The Reformation left the building in a poor state; a restoration in 1849–51 was attempted without the necessary knowledge and had to be redone in the 1950s, which is largely the interior seen today. It still holds services, and weddings.