Gol Travel Guide

 Diana75 Says:  The Gol church, dated to 1212, entered in king’s possesion during the Lutheran reformation, 1536-1537 and was subsequently sold in 1723 in order to raise funds for the Nordic wars. Bought by two farmers, in 1880 it was decided that the church should be demolished due to the... 

 Diana75 Says:  The current stave church in Gol it is actually a true copy of the 13th century church that today is found at Norsk Folkemuseum, the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. The Gol church is located at Storoyni in the centre of Gol and is open for services, weddings and... 

 Diana75 Says:  Gol is located in the valley of Hallingdal in Buskerud County, in the main road from Oslo to Bergen, the first two, as importance, towns in Norway. We've reached Gol coming from north, on our way from Stryn to Oslo, after passing the world's longest road tunnel,... 

 Diana75 Says:  Even though the wooden churches had structural differences, the features were more or less common.The Gol Stave Church was organized as a triple level basilica, feature easily to be noticed in the outer walls, constructed on staves (pillars) to support the roof. 

 Diana75 Says:  In some of the stave churches figures from the old Norse mythology are depicted, often stylized.I don't have any information about how old is the representation of the Last Supper but certainly it's very interesting to see it in what we have called the "Viking version". 

 Diana75 Says:  The decorations of stave churches is a combination of Christian designs mixed with Viking motifs, such as the dragon motifs. Serpents and dragons form the basic element of stave churches decorations.With the roots in Viking art, it is believe that represent the fight between... 

 Diana75 Says:  Originally, the Gol Stave Church had a much different appearance. There was no corridor around the exterior of the Nave, Chancel and Apse. This was added at the time of re-assembly and is similar to the cloister around the Borgund Stave Church. 

 Diana75 Says:  The interior of the initial stave churches was narrow and had no seating places. In the 18th century a new law required that seating should be installed. This was a real problem for some of the old churches which had no place for adding other furniture.In the front of the... 

 Diana75 Says:  As their names say, the churches were erected using a technology called stave technique. This technique consisted in placing the entire wooden structure on sills, put on a foundation made of flat rocks. This technique is specific for the Norwegian artisans and dates from the... 

 Diana75 Says:  A small provincial settlement, Gol is more a village than a town. Surrounded by a green landscape dominated by mountains and forests, Gol has only 4,500 inhabitans.Small typical houses, a mall and other small shops, banks, some restaurants and hotels are attracting tourists... 

 Diana75 Says:  At the entrance to the Gol stave church site, a small shop is selling typical Norwegian souvenirs such as trolls' statues, hats or Norway flags.The shop is also selling refreshments.