Urnes stave church

Urnes stave church is a stave church near Lustrafjorden in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.

The church was built sometime around 1100 to 1150 and is believed to be the oldest such building remaining in Norway. The building provides a link between the construction methods of the Viking Age with typical animal-ornamentation, the church gave its name to the "Urnes-style" of animal-art, and Christian architecture.

Many historians believe that there was a church, or possibly two churches, on the site prior to the current building, the earliest possibly dating to the early 11th century. The current church's northern side, decorated in classic Urnes-style, dates from this earlier time.

In 1979 the Urnes stave church was listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO, where it joins such other famous locations as the Great Pyramid of Giza and Stonehenge.

References

• This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article from the Norwegian Wikipedia, retrieved on April 14 2005.