On the eastern shores of the Lusterfjord in Western Norway lies Urnes Stave Church. It's a wooden church and there are plenty of those inscribed on the list. But stave churches in general and Urnes in particular are distinctly Norwegian and clearly a world apart from the many flavors of wooden churches you find in e.g. Eastern Europe.

Urnes itself isn't a large church. It's a small church that can host maybe 20 (?) people, mostly the family of the local noble as it was a private church belong to the noble's estate. I would assume the local population could join occasionally. But that wouldn't have swelled the ranks significantly. The area was never densely settled (and it isn't to this day). The rough climate and terrain greatly limited the space available for agriculture and with it the population the region could support. Side note: There is a reason the Viking went for raids so much.

Urnes claim to fame is that it's the oldest original surviving stave church in Norway. And that it features original Viking wood carvings combining Viking and Christian mythology. 

In addition, its location is stunning. The fjord, the mountains, ... It feels as if the whole landscape was composed to create a truly unique site.

Norway has more stave churches on offer. Near Oslo there is one shown in the folk museum. Probably, the most internationally known one is Heddal, which I visited with Randi and Svein. You pass it when you are heading to Rjukan. Heddal is well worth a visit and should be added to the list. Preferably, though, not as an extension, though, as Urnes is a true gem that should not be diluted serializing it and that is well worth the effort of getting to it.

Getting There

I flew into Bergen. From Bergen I took a fast and very scenic ferry ride to Sogndal up the fjord. After waiting several hours at the Sogndal bus station for my connection, I got a late bus to Solvorn where I stayed at a hostel (Eplet Hostel). Note: You have to tell the driver that you want to get off at Solvorn. Otherwise, they will just drive past it. Solvorn is a 2km detour for them.

The following morning, I rented a bike at my hostel and took the ferry across the Lustra Fjord to Urnes to visit the stave church. The key for the church is with a neighbor. You may want to check the ferry schedules. It seems they operate the whole year, but I think Martina and Ivan had a different experience in winter times (ice?). Going around the fjord will only be possible by car and take quite some time. If you arrive outside season, you may want to arrange the key before hand.

I combined my visit to the church with a scenic bike ride along the fjord.  When I returned to the Solvorn, I was plenty hungry. So hungry indeed, that I was willing to pay Norwegian prices for a restaurant dinner. Alas, it was pre season (mid May?!) and the already very limited restaurant options (2?) in Solvorn were essentially cut down to zero. Eventually, I bought pasta and tomato sauce at my hostel and had a very simple dinner.

The next morning, the owners of the hostel transported me and several other guests back to Sogndal bus station. From there I connected to Flam by bus (includes a ferry trip and a drive through the world's longest road tunnel). Flam is a) the starting point for a boat trip of the Naeroyfjord (WHS) and b) has a scenic railway line up the mountains which connects you back to Oslo and Bergen.

While You Are There

The Naerojfjord is not to be missed. Unfortunately, it was raining incessantly when I visited. In addition, tiny Flam is a popular stop for large cruise ships. A big cruise ship had arrived just before me and the town was swamped, so the trip wasn't quite as idyllic as could have been.

Generally, the fjords in the area are just stunning and I really enjoyed my time cycling along the shores or on board of the ferries.