Heddal Stave Church, a photo from Telemark, South

Photographer's Note

Heddal stave church (Heddal stavkirke) is a stave church located at Heddal in Notodden municipality, Norway.

The church is a triple nave stave church and is Norway's largest stave church. It was constructed at the beginning of the 13th century. After the reformation, the church was in a very poor condition, and a restoration took place during 1849–1851. However, because the restorers lacked the necessary knowledge and skills, yet another restoration was necessary in the 1950s. The interior is marked by the period after the Lutheran Reformation in 1536–1537 and is for a great part a result of the restoration that took place in the 1950s.

There is a legend telling about the erection of the church and how it was built in three days.

Five farmers (Raud Rygi, Stebbe Straand, Kjeik Sem, Grut Grene and Vrang Stivi) from Heddal had made plans for a church, and they decided to have it built. This is how it happened:

One day, Raud Rygi (one of the five men) met a stranger who was willing to build the church. However, the stranger, set three conditions for doing the job, one of which must be fulfilled before the church was finished:

Raud had three options: fetch the sun and the moon from the sky, forfeit his life-blood, or guess the name of the stranger. Raud thought the last would not prove too difficult, so he agreed to the terms

But time began to run out. All of the building materials had arrived during the first night, and remarkably, the spire was built during the second. It became clear to Raud that the church would be finished on the third day.

Down at heart and fearing for his life, Raud took a walk around in the fields trying to figure out what the stranger's name could be. Still wandering about he had unconsciously arrived at Svintruberget (a rocky hill southeast of the church site) when he suddenly heard a strange but most beautiful and clearly audible female song:

Hush-hush little Child,
Tomorrow Finn will bring you the Moon and the Sky.
He will bring you the Sun and a Christian Heart,
so pretty Toys for my little Child to play a Part.

papagolf21, gildasjan, ikeharel, ikeharel, pajaran, tyro, cornejo, jjcordier, boa, poutpout, holmertz, Hansaphotos, worldcitizen, snunney, rbassin, rbassin, Periko, PaulVDV, danos, photoray, mcmtanyel, annjackman, ourania, COSTANTINO, Cricri, pierrefonds, jhm, Graal, bukitgolfb301, Royaldevon, marabu61, ChrisJ, fotka, s_lush, kordinator, Lidka has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

papagolf21 (152607) 2015-08-27 10:37

Bonsoir, cher Gunnar,
Je suis admiratif devant cet édifice de toute beauté. La mise en image est excellente.
Un pur bonheur.
Très bonne soirée.
Amitiés.
Philippe

gildasjan (43826) 2015-08-27 10:50

Bonsoir Gunnar
Excellent rendu de tous les volumes de cette superbe église.Ce ciel bleu met parfaitement en valeur les teintes de cette architecture.Une bonne réalisation avec un très bon rendu des textures.
Bonne nuit
Amicalement
Gildas

emka (158128) 2015-08-27 10:50

Hello Gunnar, I am first to comment. And what a BIG surprise to see you here and with such a wonderful photo! marvelous stave church, I love them. Gorgeous presentation - perfect sharpness, colours, composition. Thanks for sharing!!

WArm regard s MAlgo

pajaran (115861) 2015-08-27 11:22

Dobro vece.
Interesantan i dobar tekst o staroj crkvi sa istorijom i opisom ...
Lepo pokazana arhitektura i detalji na fasadi, dobar ostrina i kontrast, lepo uhvacen trenutak sa oblacima koji dolaze.
Lepa crkva.
Prijatno vece i mirna noc sa dobrim snom, sve najbolje, srecno.
Paja.

Evening.
Interesting and good text about the old church with a history and description ...
Nice architecture and the details shown on the facade, good sharpness and contrast beautifully captured moment with clouds coming.
Beautiful church.
Good evening and peaceful night with good sleep, all the best, good luck.
Paja.

lousat (139236) 2015-08-27 11:32

Hi Gunnar,wooden churches are Always a great opportunity for the photographers.I remind one seen in a open air useum close to Oslo some year ago,great capture well exposed,sharp and bright,i like it! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

tyro (30513) 2015-08-27 11:36

Hello Gunnar,

How wonderful to see you back posting photographs again! I've just noticed that this is only the second picture which you have uploaded this year - but this one has certainly been worth all the waiting!

As always, you've given us a fascinating and very informative note. I presume that the legend refers to the building of the original church in the 13th century and not to these more recent restorations?

You have, of course, shown us wonderful photographs of stave churches before, but never one on such a grand scale and with such tall and complex proportions as this one. To me it almost looks more like a fairy-tale castle than a church.

And your photograph is truly stunning: the light is beautifully soft, the colours rich and vibrant and your composition excellent and pleasing. And even when viewed at its full size of 3000 x 2725 pixels, it is stunningly clear and sharp.

I do look forward to seeing many more of your pictures again soon.

Beautiful!

Kind Regards,

John.

cornejo (61504) 2015-08-27 12:12

Hello Gunnar, very good picture of this beautiful and interesting church, beautifully captured in this interesting image with good sharpness, light, color and quality. Very good and interesting job well done, congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.

Good evening and happy weekend.
Warm greetings from southern Spain.
Angel.

boa (8039) 2015-08-27 12:45

Hej Gunnar,
kul att du kikar in här då och då! Fint bidrag du kommer med nu också från vårt vackra grannland. Jag har tyvärr aldrig sett en stavkyrka annat än på bild men jag är fascinerad av byggnadstekniken och det rent estetiska. Den här är ju helt fantastisk med alla vinklar och tak dessutom med en lång historia. Bilden är tagen från ett bra avstånd där hela kyrkan är synlig och en del av den omgivande miljön. Skarpt foto med klara färger, som alltid. Hoppas att du hittar hit oftare.

Hälsningar/

Boa

peterpap (2863) 2015-08-27 13:41

Hi there, nice picture with great sharpness and colours. I particularly like the low point of view and picture format. The text is interesting too. Thx for sharing

poutpout (3538) 2015-08-27 13:56

Hello Gunnar
Never seen such a beautiful and original structure..
Architecture with huge visual impact...TFS

Robert

holmertz (102672) 2015-08-27 14:15

Hej Gunnar,
Välkommen tillbaka. Kyrkan är ju rätt snygg, rent av fantastiskt vacker, och den är elegant inramad av träd i ett fint ljus, med bra färger. Fast den där bakgrundsberättelsen tror jag inte riktigt på. Nog måste bygget ha tagit åtminstone fyra fem dagar.
Hälsningar,
Gert

npecanhuk (79329) 2015-08-27 14:16

Hello Gunnar!
Wonderful wooden church!
Very beautiful and attractive picture!
Sharpness, exposure, colors, horizontal format, chosen pov and composition!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

Hansaphotos (11381) 2015-08-27 14:21

Hei Gunnar

Et utsøkt bilde av en av våre flotte, gamle stavkirker. Jeg liker meget godt vinkelen du har valgt, og at du har plassert muren og de gamle graver i forgrunnen. Vi er heldige som ennå har slike fornminner i dette landet. Spennende historie du formidler i teksten under. Ser at du var heldig og fikk en fin andel blå himmel denne sommerdagen; det har ikke vært for mye av det i år. Et nydelig bilde!

Hilsen Erling

worldcitizen (16068) 2015-08-27 17:02

Hello Gunnar,
I've seen this church on TE before, and I found it impressive. In your photo I can appreciate the details even more. The wood is very beautiful, and the setting of this church is also great. It seems to blend in perfectly with the nature around it.

PiotrF (54636) 2015-08-27 17:19

Hello Gunnar,
Fantastic place and architecture in your capture from Notodden.
I like good framing, clarity and sharpness. Wonderful natural colours.
Nice shot, lovely presentation.
Regards
Piotr

macjake (98454) 2015-08-27 17:28

Hi Gunnar
nice to see you post a photo!
and this one is a doozy of a subject!
it doesn't get much better than this i tell ya.

first of all, excellent note, lots of useful information there, and very interesting too.

the photo you took and posted today is so super clear and sharp, we can see every single roof tile.
its an easy A+ in my books.
well done!

cheers
craig

abmdsudi (95869) 2015-08-27 20:35

Hi Gunnar
Good to see you posting my friend.
What a super looking extensive wooden church with its unique architectural style and amazing that it survived without nails for so long in view of its age. I think the creosote seems to have done it's job well over the years. I really like the clear detail seen from this focal length and when you get the great light with clear blues sky, it does show off to its best here enhancing the colour beautifully. Fascinating and very nicely documented. Congrats.
Best wishes

Matyas (0) 2015-08-28 1:31

Hello Gunnar! Amazing wooden church, wonderful old architecture. Superb cut. Perfect contrast and sharpness. Marvelous colours. Interesting note. Regards!

snunney (130967) 2015-08-28 3:43

Hello Gunnar,
It seems a very long time since I last saw one of your images on TE. This one is excellent. Perfectly composed and ideally exposed with superb colours and clarity. Interesting and informative note also.

dkmurphys (79209) 2015-08-28 5:37

Hi Gunnar,
Very nice capture of this impressive traditional church. Spectacular structure, beautiful work.

Daniel

rbassin (27472) 2015-08-28 6:30

hello Gunnar
une magnifique réalisation en bois.
Bon point de vue, belle présentation.
Bon W-E
Roland

Sergiom (117241) 2015-08-28 6:48

Bonjour Gunnar,

Cette bâtisse est vraiment spectaculaire. Cette structure de bois est hors du commun et le point de vue choisi la met bien en vedette. Le cadrage est excellent et le ciel est d'un très beau bleu.

Amicalement

Serge

ikeharel (113319) 2015-08-28 7:57

Hello Gunnar,
Wonderfully placed the wooden church edifice on picture space, with excellent sharp details collected and fine contrast to its nature's surrounding.
Have a nice weekend,
Ike

dta (98848) 2015-08-28 11:07

Hello Gunnar ,
This is a great capture of this amazing wooden church . We can admire ol the details . i like alot the fresh green corn in the FG .
Nice to see you again on TE .
REgards

Periko (9107) 2015-08-28 16:26

Hi Gunnar
This is a strange and fantastic church, nicely framed. Exposure and sharpness are excellent.

Thanks for sharing
Pedro

jjcordier (79299) 2015-08-28 23:32

Gunnar
Très bonne photo de cette superbe église en bois debout norvégienne. Jolie lumière.
Amicalement
JJ

PaulVDV (62886) 2015-08-28 23:55

Hello Gunnar,
Now this is absolutely a wonderful church!
The brown tones give it a very warm touch and makes it stand out nicely in the green surroundings and against the blue sky.
Taken from a good angle. Excellent sharpness.
Best regards, Paul

danos (110407) 2015-08-30 7:13

Hello Gunar,
Excellent the view as the presentation of this multileveled spectacular church.The brilliant light og the day enhance the clarity as the details of the image.Well done.

Regards,Danos

photoray (13981) 2015-08-30 9:11

Howdy Gunnar,

Like everyone else an attractive unique architecture, well displayed by your resolute natural color image.
Especially attractive is the unique details and textures of the materials used, and in varying roof lines and multiple towers. A multiple piece into one unified structure.

Well done,
Cheers,
Ray

serp2000 (47063) 2015-08-30 11:10

Hej, Gunnar,
I did not see this ypur post. Great! Wonderful architecture, it reminds me some old Russian Orthodox wooden churches.
As always, perfect technical quality!
All the best wishes from Ural,
Serghei

Fis2 (170717) 2015-08-30 12:41

Witaj Gunnar!
Wow!
Beautiful church.
I love it!
Excellent framing, colours and sharpness.
Very well done.
TFS
Good night
Krzysztof

mcmtanyel (68479) 2015-08-30 18:53

Hello Gunnar,
What an elegant building, taken from a great vantage point, rising high above the clouds! ;-) Finn did a fine job of construction!
Regards,
MT

rychem (72187) 2015-08-30 21:34

Two times I can say WOW, excellent photo and beautiful church, really I admire such creative structures, a similar church we have in Poland in Karpacz, it was "imported" from Norway (1841). Splendid photo
regards Ryszard

Nicou (193806) 2015-08-31 1:57

Hello

Grandisoe église quelle vue e tiamge quelle architecture fantastique sueprbe compo le rendu du bois sur ces clocher quelle contstruction e tiamgemervielleux.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

annjackman (23019) 2015-08-31 10:51

Hello Gunnar,
What a lovely surprise that you have posted a picture after a long absence. You have been missed. It was good to meet up with Gert in London recently - perhaps you will visit some day.
You photo is superb as it is both technically excellent and interesting. The detail on this fine church is excellent and looks magnificent against the blue sky.
Keep posting!
Kind Regards, Ann

eldancer1 (36343) 2015-09-01 7:30

Interesting and unusual design for a church, hard to tell which influence the style but I like it. Nicely captured with good lighting and sharp details. Well done, tfs.

ourania (51103) 2015-09-01 7:38

Hello Gunnar,
this is an impresive, fascinating church building. It looks like a faitytale palace and the legend that accompanies it enhances its allure. You are offering us a magnificent impression of it in an interesting and well balanced composition with excellent sharpness and colours. I like very much the textures and the 3D impression. The colours are natural and atmospheric. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great evening,
Ourania

Silvio1953 (221563) 2015-09-01 12:25

Ciao Gunnar, great view of fantastic wooden church, wonderful colors, fine details, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

COSTANTINO (116452) 2015-09-01 12:48

Hello dear Gunnar and have a nice time
intersting capture of a different church
like this one which is a stave church
located at Heddal in Notodden municipality
Norway gorgeous presentation impressive
architectural details perfectly executed
your notes are really useful
regards
Costantino

Cricri (176) 2015-09-01 22:44

Hi Gunnar
Une architecture qui sort du commun, intéressante forme de l'église, bien cadrer , très belle réalisation
belle journée
cricri

pierrefonds (114422) 2015-09-02 17:47

Hi Gunnar,

The trees are framing well the church. It is impressive. The point of view is showing with precision trhe details of the architecture of the church. Have a nice day.

Pierre

SWEETFREEDOM (24623) 2015-09-03 10:09

Hi Gunnar,
interesting church, perfect p.o.v. and colors.
regards
Alessandro

jhm (211736) 2015-09-04 6:01

Hello Gunnar,

Thank you very much for your interesting note about the church, I learn something new everyday on TE.
What a specially church and specially roofs.
Wonderful perspective and depth picture.
Your picture shows very nice details also excellent of sharpness and clarity.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

Graal (103040) 2015-09-04 6:16

Hello Gunnar,
very nice old wooden church. Interesting construction. Good informations and perfect photo-work. I like it.
Have a nice evening.
Aleksander

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2015-09-04 8:46

Hi dear Gumar, how are you?

No commnication with you, so regrettable but I am very happy to see you again. Very amazing church at all, first time to see for me. Very reasonable framework and stunning color contarst touch. Great shot as usual.

All the best and have a good day! Takero

ChrisJ (171822) 2015-09-04 11:07

Hello Gunnar

The dark wooden church contrasts well against the lighter tones of the bg blue sky to give a pleasing graphic element. Excellent sharpness and well framed and composed. Tfs.

berek (50518) 2015-09-04 20:52

Dear Gunner,
This building is truly spectacular. This wooden structure is unusual and the chosen perspective brings into limelight. The framing is excellent and the sky is a beautiful blue.
Have a good weekend.
Burak

Tue (92328) 2015-09-07 13:08

Hello Gunnar,
Excellent photo of this impressive stavkirke. You had the perfect blue background here and the sharpness is very good for the many details of the wood. I particularly like the patterns on the roofs parts.
Lars

Royaldevon (85932) 2015-09-10 0:44

Hello Gunnar,

What a delight to see you posting again and with a photograph of such an eye-catching, unique building. It is stunning, even without any 'red'!

When I saw it, it conjured up impressions of the gingerbread house, although this is much grander.

You have captured it with excellent clarity, with a fine setting and good sense of scale. Let's hope to see more of this from you, this year.

Thank you for the interesting note. Does the legend remind you a little of Rumplestiltskin?

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2015-09-14 3:03

Hello Gunnar,
Nice capture of this church. The wooden contruction is a great. Nicely done.
best wishes,
Achim

larsy (28) 2015-10-13 6:35

Fantastisk byggnad fint fångad på bild.

Kielia (24077) 2015-10-23 7:56

Dear Gunnar,
very nicely composed impression of this well known church with the beautiful architecture. The photographer’s perspective is outstanding. You should add it to your theme best ones at TE. My compliments!
Warm regards
Harriet

marabu61 (11587) 2015-11-22 13:28

Hej Gunnar
What a wonderful nordish stave church and so beautifully restored too. The church against that gorgeous blue sky and with the beautiful woods around form a spectacular pair. And great story about the creation of the church to, I just love these old folk lore's.
hejdå och trevlig vecka
Daniel

fotka (8993) 2016-01-20 7:20

Hi Gunnar,
Magnificent wooden church! Lately I had opportunity to visit similar church, but smaller, brought from Norway and assembled in Poland. This one is fantastic piece of wooden architecture. The quality of photo is great with perfect clarity, light, sharpness and interesting note.
Kind regards,
Zbigniew

batalay (41261) 2016-01-29 7:47

Hello Gunnar,

This is a superb architectural portrait of the great Heddal Stave Church in Notodden. You took advantage of the brilliant sunlight, and produced a high resolution image of the edifice, that has been around for 700 years, and restored masterfully a number of times. The note is especially a pleasure to read. Have a good weekend,

Bulent

kiks (12805) 2016-06-19 8:08

This architecture is amazing. I love all the lines and the material. Also like your composition using the tree and field to frame the church.
tfs
KIKs

No_One (4) 2016-06-19 8:52

Hi Gunnar
What a fantastic shot of this landmark. I've lived this building since I was a child, it was in almost every book I read on architecture. The light, the angle, the colors, all perfect. Lovely shot, thanks for sharing
Cheers
Noel

gervaso (28177) 2016-07-18 4:40

Hello, Gunnar!

Interesting and original architecture of this church, very different from all the churches I've seen! And the quality of the image is great, with excellent colors and sharpness! Wonderful composition! Very well done!

fabianoleite (13575) 2016-09-10 12:08

That's really a unique and beautiful church, with highly distinctive features and nice colors, well surrounded by a nice green area. Excellent work, congratulations!

s_lush (16602) 2016-09-17 23:07

Hello, Gunnar,
When I was in my TE vacation, you kept posting excellent photographs there. This one is simply beautiful. The architectural features of this big and well-proportioned wooden church are blameless. You have photographed it from the right angle, with the highest photographic quality and against beautifully clouded blue sky. Brilliant job!
My warmest regards,
Sergiy

kordinator (8738) 2016-11-02 1:39

Hello Gunnar
A wonderful capture of the Heddal stave church constructed at the beginning of the 13th century. An interesting and very informative text about the history of the church and the legends that circulate.
Beautiful structure of the church, is very unusual.
And your photograph is truly stunning: the light is beautifully soft, the colours rich and vibrant and your composition excellent and pleasing.
Excellent composition and presentation with splendid colors, excellent sharpnes and perfect lighting.
Kind regards
Saša

Lidka (527) 2018-01-05 5:14

Dear Gunnar!
Amazing wooden architecture.
What a wonderful church.
Fine weather, nice bright and colours.
Good saturation.
Perfect composition, ideal exposure and capture.
Charming effect.
Well done!

Photo Information

Copyright: Gunnar Holmertz (saxo042) (38078)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2015-07-20
Categories: Architecture
Camera: Canon PowerShot G1 X
Exposure: f/8, 1/320 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Map: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): My favourite foreign photos from Norway, My best pictures on TE, Travel Wish List [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2015-08-27 10:21
Favorites: 1 [view]