The Norwegian government has awarded new funding to support preservation work at the country’s medieval stave churches, including major maintenance projects and a new digital documentation initiative.
Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment announced that a total of five million kroner ($516,000 US) will be distributed to stave church projects in 2026. Of this amount, three million kroner comes from new grants, while two million kroner represents commitments previously made in 2025.
Rollag Stave Church in Numedal receives promise of funding next year. Photo: Trond Isaksen, National Agency for Cultural Heritage.
Norway preserves 28 surviving stave churches, a group of wooden buildings dating from the Middle Ages that represent a unique architectural tradition. While similar wooden churches once existed across northern Europe, few have survived outside Norway.
“The stave churches are among the oldest buildings we have in Norway, and it is fantastic that they are still in use,” said Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment. “It is important that we preserve these for the future, and that people can learn about the history they represent through continued use.”
3D scanning project for Borgund Stave Church
Interior of Borgund Stave Church – photo by Micha L. Rieser / Wikimedia Commons
One of the largest initiatives funded this year will focus on Borgund Stave Church, widely regarded as one of the best-preserved medieval churches in Norway.
Built in the late twelfth century, Borgund remains almost unchanged from its medieval form and has often served as a model for the restoration of other stave churches. Although the church was measured in 1856, no modern comprehensive survey has been carried out since then.
According to National Heritage Commissioner Hanna Geiran, “most of the stave churches lack recent and accurate survey drawings as documentation. This is a deficiency that we can now remedy with high-quality 3D scanning. The scanning is therefore important as part of the preparedness, and to preserve the knowledge that the stave churches represent in European cultural history.
Researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), working with the Cultural History Museum and the Norwegian Association of Historical Monuments, will create a detailed 3D digital model of Borgund using laser scanning. The model will allow scholars to produce new measurements and architectural drawings, while also supporting restoration planning and public interpretation.”
The digital record will also play an important role in safeguarding the building against threats such as fire, vandalism, and climate-related damage.
“We believe that both the scan and the 3D model are important and useful both as documentation and for future work with the church, for dissemination and for research,” Geiran added.
Maintenance work across several churches
The Nore Stave Church in Numedal is promised two million in grants next year. Photo: Lene Buskoven, National Agency for Cultural Heritage.
A significant portion of the funding will support routine but essential maintenance work on several stave churches.
At Uvdal Stave Church in Numedal, which was last tarred in 2018, the exterior woodwork will receive a new tar treatment with the help of a one-million-kroner grant. Tarring is an important traditional method used to protect the timber structures from weather damage.
Additional tarring work is planned for other churches in the region. Funding commitments have already been made for Nore Stave Church and Rollag Stave Church, which together are expected to receive 2.7 million kroner in 2027. At Nore, the entire church exterior will be tarred, while at Rollag the work will focus on the walls.
Other projects receiving funding include 400,000 kroner for surface treatment at Kaupanger Stave Church in Sogn and 50,000 kroner for the completion of a tarring project at Høyjord Stave Church in Vestfold.
Meanwhile, Undredal Stave Church will receive 50,000 kroner for cleaning and repainting after parts of the building were affected by black fungus.
Funding research on medieval timber
Høyjord Stave Church is Vestfold’s only stave church. Photo: Birger Lindstad, National Agency for Cultural Heritage.
Part of the grant programme will also support scientific research related to medieval buildings. The dendrochronology laboratory at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) will receive 200,000 kroner to improve its tree-ring datasets.
Dendrochronology—the dating of timber through tree-ring patterns—is a key method used to determine when medieval wooden buildings were constructed.
“The grant will go towards obtaining more samples and analyses, so that the interpretation results are more certain,” said Geiran. “For the stave churches, it is particularly important that we strengthen our knowledge of the oldest foundation curves, so that we can obtain the best possible dating. This is central to research on both the stave churches and other historical buildings.”
Unique medieval architecture
Kaupanger Stave Church in Sogn receives a grant for surface treatment. Photo: Alexander Myrseth, National Agency for Cultural Heritage.
Stave churches are defined by their distinctive timber construction, in which vertical posts—known as staves—form the main supporting structure. This building technique was once common across northern Europe during the early Middle Ages.
Today, Norway’s 28 surviving examples represent the largest and most important group of such churches anywhere in the world. Some of them have been standing for nearly 900 years, and roughly half remain active parish churches.
Their richly carved portals, steep wooden roofs, and dragon-head decorations are widely regarded as among the most remarkable examples of medieval wooden architecture in Europe.
With new funding now allocated for research, documentation, and conservation, Norwegian authorities hope these rare medieval buildings will continue to survive for centuries to come.
Top Image: Borgund Stave Church: The stave church that has perhaps changed the least since the Middle Ages. Photo: Karin Axelsen, National Agency for Cultural Heritage.
The Norwegian government has awarded new funding to support preservation work at the country’s medieval stave churches, including major maintenance projects and a new digital documentation initiative.
Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment announced that a total of five million kroner ($516,000 US) will be distributed to stave church projects in 2026. Of this amount, three million kroner comes from new grants, while two million kroner represents commitments previously made in 2025.
Norway preserves 28 surviving stave churches, a group of wooden buildings dating from the Middle Ages that represent a unique architectural tradition. While similar wooden churches once existed across northern Europe, few have survived outside Norway.
“The stave churches are among the oldest buildings we have in Norway, and it is fantastic that they are still in use,” said Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment. “It is important that we preserve these for the future, and that people can learn about the history they represent through continued use.”
3D scanning project for Borgund Stave Church
One of the largest initiatives funded this year will focus on Borgund Stave Church, widely regarded as one of the best-preserved medieval churches in Norway.
Built in the late twelfth century, Borgund remains almost unchanged from its medieval form and has often served as a model for the restoration of other stave churches. Although the church was measured in 1856, no modern comprehensive survey has been carried out since then.
According to National Heritage Commissioner Hanna Geiran, “most of the stave churches lack recent and accurate survey drawings as documentation. This is a deficiency that we can now remedy with high-quality 3D scanning. The scanning is therefore important as part of the preparedness, and to preserve the knowledge that the stave churches represent in European cultural history.
Researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), working with the Cultural History Museum and the Norwegian Association of Historical Monuments, will create a detailed 3D digital model of Borgund using laser scanning. The model will allow scholars to produce new measurements and architectural drawings, while also supporting restoration planning and public interpretation.”
The digital record will also play an important role in safeguarding the building against threats such as fire, vandalism, and climate-related damage.
“We believe that both the scan and the 3D model are important and useful both as documentation and for future work with the church, for dissemination and for research,” Geiran added.
Maintenance work across several churches
A significant portion of the funding will support routine but essential maintenance work on several stave churches.
At Uvdal Stave Church in Numedal, which was last tarred in 2018, the exterior woodwork will receive a new tar treatment with the help of a one-million-kroner grant. Tarring is an important traditional method used to protect the timber structures from weather damage.
Additional tarring work is planned for other churches in the region. Funding commitments have already been made for Nore Stave Church and Rollag Stave Church, which together are expected to receive 2.7 million kroner in 2027. At Nore, the entire church exterior will be tarred, while at Rollag the work will focus on the walls.
Other projects receiving funding include 400,000 kroner for surface treatment at Kaupanger Stave Church in Sogn and 50,000 kroner for the completion of a tarring project at Høyjord Stave Church in Vestfold.
Meanwhile, Undredal Stave Church will receive 50,000 kroner for cleaning and repainting after parts of the building were affected by black fungus.
Funding research on medieval timber
Part of the grant programme will also support scientific research related to medieval buildings. The dendrochronology laboratory at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) will receive 200,000 kroner to improve its tree-ring datasets.
Dendrochronology—the dating of timber through tree-ring patterns—is a key method used to determine when medieval wooden buildings were constructed.
“The grant will go towards obtaining more samples and analyses, so that the interpretation results are more certain,” said Geiran. “For the stave churches, it is particularly important that we strengthen our knowledge of the oldest foundation curves, so that we can obtain the best possible dating. This is central to research on both the stave churches and other historical buildings.”
Unique medieval architecture
Stave churches are defined by their distinctive timber construction, in which vertical posts—known as staves—form the main supporting structure. This building technique was once common across northern Europe during the early Middle Ages.
Today, Norway’s 28 surviving examples represent the largest and most important group of such churches anywhere in the world. Some of them have been standing for nearly 900 years, and roughly half remain active parish churches.
Their richly carved portals, steep wooden roofs, and dragon-head decorations are widely regarded as among the most remarkable examples of medieval wooden architecture in Europe.
With new funding now allocated for research, documentation, and conservation, Norwegian authorities hope these rare medieval buildings will continue to survive for centuries to come.
Top Image: Borgund Stave Church: The stave church that has perhaps changed the least since the Middle Ages. Photo: Karin Axelsen, National Agency for Cultural Heritage.
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