Borgund Stave Church · Dragons Carved on the Door Frame

Borgund Stave Church is built entirely of wood: posts, arches and wall planks interlock, vertical boards are nailed on outside in layers, and stones weigh down the roof.

Interlacing dragons and vines are carved on the door frame and the eaves — old Norse craft brought into a Christian building. There is no electric light inside; the only light comes through the windows from candles.

The church has stood by the fjord for more than eight hundred years. The man who keeps it says it is colder inside than out in winter.

Historical Mysteries / Sognefjord · Norway / 1180