Heddal Stave Church – “The Wooden Cathedral”
The stave church of Heddal is the largest stave church in Norway and is often referred to as the “wooden cathedral”. It is 29 meters high, 25 meters long and 17 meters wide. The year of construction of the church is unknown. Experts believe, however, that it was built in the beginning of the 13th century. But the oldest built beams are much older, they were felled in the 9th and 10th centuries. This could indicate that the building material was already “recycled” at that time. After a failed renovation in the 19th century, the church was restored to its original condition in the 1950s. She stands there again today as at her inauguration.
When I stood in front of this “cathedral” for the first time today, I was speechless … The sight is simply overwhelming. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and rainy, so my pictures are not so beautiful.
The Heddal local history museum shows a small but fine selection of historic houses. The first house was built here in 1950. All buildings have been brought there from the surrounding area. In addition to the buildings, there are also many exhibits and a large collection of traditional costumes to see. The most beautiful room is located on the upper floor of the house “Rambergstugo”: Both the walls and the ceiling are decorated with wonderful paintings.
Many greetings to the staff in the museum, it was a great pleasure to meet you. I’ll definitely be back soon.
From Oslo to Heddal:
The tour to Heddal takes about 2:30 hours and leads through beautiful landscapes in the districts Buskerud and Telemark.
Departure from Oslo bus terminal at 09:30 with the express-bus VY1. The journey goes via Drammen and Kongsberg to Notodden. Arrival at Notodden terminal at 11:40. From there at 11:45 continue by bus NW185 direction Rjukan. The bus stops directly at the open-air museum Heddal, stop Notodden-Svintrud. Different times apply at the weekend. The fare from Oslo to Notodden is between NOK 229 and NOK 355 (depending on travel time). Seat reservation costs NOK 49 extra.
