Hedal stave church
| Hedalen Stave Church | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Church |
| Status | Automatically protected |
| County | Oppland |
| Municipality | Sør-Aurdal |
| Year built | c. 1160 |
| ID | 84512 |
Not to be confused with Heddal stave church
Hedal Stave Church also known as Hedalen Stave Church (Norwegian: Hedalen stavkyrkje) is a stave church located in Hedalen in Sør-Aurdal, Norway.
The first reference to the church is in 1327. The original church was a much smaller single nave church built second half of the 12th century. The west entrance remains from the original church. The front portal is one of the oldest, most richly ornamented and among the most beautiful in the whole country. It takes the form of three winged dragons, one on each side of the arch and pilasters of the entrance and one above, all elaborately intertwined in a tendril and leaf pattern.
The remodelling and expansion of original building into a cruciform church is believed to have been completed in 1699, although some sources claim 1738. Restoration work was done during 1902 under direction of Carl Berner. During the restoration work, the previous sacristy was replaced with a new choir, and the new parts were enclosed in an ambulatory. This was a small reconstruction to add a new ridge turret (Norwegian:takrytter).
Within the church there is also a reliquary, made of wood in the shape of a miniature church (called a chasse) with gilt-brass mountings and with scenes from the Bible and the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, possibly a clue as to whose relics the reliquary was originally made to contain. Like the stave churches themselves the reliquary is ornamented with dragon-heads on its gables, a feature which several Norwegian medieval reliquaries share and which might have been originally inspired by similar dragon-heads on the silver gilt reliquary of St. Olav on the enshrined on the high altar of the Nidaros Cathedral. This reliquary was the principal source of inspiration for coat of arms of Sør-Aurdal. Another source of inspiration for this coat of arms was the Reinli stave church. Also preserved in the church is the wooden litter for bearing this reliquary in processions, as well as a brass censer with Limoges enamel and a wooden pax-board.
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