Church building in Norway began when Christianity was established there around the year 1000. The first buildings may have been post churches erected in the 10th or 11th century, but the evidence is inconclusive. For instance under Urnes Stave Church and Lom Stave Church there are traces of older post churches. Post churches were later replaced by the more durable stave churches. About 1,300 churches were built during the 12th and 13th centuries in what was Norway's first building boom. A total of about 3,000 churches have been built in Norway, although nearly half of them have perished. From 1620 systematic records and accounts were kept although sources prior to 1620 are fragmented. Evidence about early and medieval churches is partly archaeological. The "long church" is the most common type of church in Norway. There are about 1620 buildings recognized as churches affiliated with the Church of Norway. In addition, there are a number of gospel halls belonging to the lay movement affiliated with the Church of Norway (not regarded as church buildings) as well as churches belonging to other Christian bodies. Until the 20th century, most churches were built from wood. 220 buildings are protected by law, and an additional 765 are listed as valuable cultural heritage.
From early Christian times, a clerical administrative subdivision was established. For instance, in Hordaland there were subdivisions as one fourth ("fjordung" or "fjerding") or one eight ("åttung") of a county, each with its own main church. For instance Old Sakshaug Church was the main church for one of the four districts of Inntrøndelag.
Church building has been influenced by the role of the State or the Crown. The Reformation in Norway was accomplished by force in 1537 when Christian III of Denmark and Norway declared Lutheranism as the official religion of Norway and Denmark. The Crown then took over church property, while some churches were plundered and abandoned.
Cette page est générée automatiquement et peut contenir des informations qui ne sont pas correctes, complètes, à jour ou pertinentes par rapport à votre recherche. Il en va de même pour toutes les autres pages de ce site. Veillez à vérifier les informations auprès des sources officielles de l'EPFL.
La stavkirke de Borgund (Borgund stavkyrkje ou Borgund stavkirke en norvégien) à Borgund, Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane, est considérée comme étant la mieux préservée des églises en bois debout subsistant en Norvège. Elle fait partie des églises en bois debout avec étage. Son chœur comporte une abside semi-circulaire, elle aussi avec étage, et est ceinte d’une galerie extérieure couverte, toujours à l'étage. Des datations des échantillons de bois par dendrochronologie indiquent que les arbres utilisés ont été abattus durant l'hiver 1180 - 1181, donc l'église fut vraisemblablement édifiée avant 1200.
thumb|upright=1.3|Stavkirke d'Urnes inscrite sur la liste du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO thumb|upright=1.3|Stavkirke de Borgund Une stavkirke ou stavkyrkje (en norvégien bokmål et nynorsk ; au pluriel, on emploie généralement en français une forme régulière en stavkirkes, parfois le pluriel norvégien stavkirker) est une église médiévale en bois typique de la Norvège, bien que des fouilles laissent penser que d'autres églises de ce type aient pu exister ailleurs en Europe du Nord.