Norwegian Stave Churches
Heddal Church My brother and I had been walking for hours along a two lane Norwegian highway when the Heddal Stave Church appeared like a mirage in the rain. Rural Norway didn’t have a taxi service. We were both too young to rent a car. We were too shy to ask for help, and we couldn’t read Norwegian road signs. So we were left to walk the five miles from the bus stop to the largest of the 28 remaining Norwegian Stave churches. Out in the middle of a large field, the majestic wooden church loomed like a mysterious fortress. Built sometime in the 12th Century, Heddal was the largest of historic wooden churches scattered across the fjords and rolling hills of Norway. Our mission was to visit as many churches as we could and learn how these wooden buildings had lasted nearly a millennium in the harsh, wet climate of Norway. The small scholarship from Montana State University barely budgeted for one person, but on a diet of refried beans and crackers, I managed to fit my brother into the