Viking-era church ceiling now back on view at Oslo’s Historical Museum

A new exhibition has just opened at the Historical Museum in Oslo in which the main attraction is the richly decorated ceiling of the Ål Stave Church, the only one of its kind in Norway. 

Dating back to the later 1100s, around 150 years after the country adopted Christianity, the church was demolished in 1880.

Biblical scenes

Unveiled in time for the Easter holidays, Transformation – Faith and Sacred Objects in the Middle Ages gathers key sacred medieval objects under one roof, a section of it featuring part of the church that once stood near the water in a small community halfway between Oslo and Bergen.

In nearby Prestegardslåven, a church museum now stands in parkland, where other decorative panels from stave churches are restored and put out on display. 

A replica of the doorway and ceiling are also on view, while the originals form part of the permanent collection at the Historical Museum in Oslo.

There were once a thousand stave churches across Norway, distinctive constructions of ore pine prevalent across Scandinavia in the 1100s and 1200s. Today only 28 remain. 

We recently reported how Sandra Birkenes and a team of craftsmen are looking to rebuild a stave church using authentic materials in Setesdal.

As explained by a local expert Margrethe Havgar who takes us on a virtual tour of the Oslo exhibition, the ceiling of Ål Stave Church comprises 23 motifs illustrating Bible stories, from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the largest and most masterly of the designs, depicting Easter and the Resurrection. 

Painted on wood and more than 700 years old, the compositions are simple in style, keeping to the strong European tradition of how these tales should be presented. Few in the congregation would have been able to read or write – these panels get the message across directly, in a way that can be easily understood.

Coins and statues

The exhibition goes on to explore the transformation of the relationship between the human and the divine. Perhaps the most moving exhibit is a collection of medieval coins that were discovered under the floors of churches. 

These would have been slipped between the floorboards by worshippers, as a secret offering to God, and lay there for centuries before being found.

Among the sculptures, the one of the Uvdal Woman was found under the stave church of the same name, built in Buskerud in 1168. Beautifully lit, her face is one of a typical rural parishioner, again showing the attitude of medieval society toward religion. The church was last used in 1893 and is now a museum.

Transformation – Faith and Sacred Objects in the Middle Ages, Historical Museum, Frederiks gate 2, 0148 Oslo. Open Easter Week from April 4, 11am-4pm (April 6 11am-8pm, closed Easter Monday). Regular opening hours Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun 10am-5pm, Thur 10am-6pm. Admission NOK 120, seniors/students NOK 90, under-18s free.

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