Just a few miles down the road from Lom, the village of Vaga boasts its own beautiful church, filled with striking polychrome carvings and surrounded by grave markers crafted from local stone. First mentioned in 12th-century chronicles, the church was almost completely rebuilt in 1627 by Werner Olsen, a famous architect of the time. His design incorporated a few fragments of the original building, which experts say was probably one of the oldest in the country. The ambiguity has bureaucratic ramifications that have affected preservation efforts. There are no video cameras here.
Security systems are limited to a few rudimentary smoke detectors and a copper lightning rod.
Recent treatment with wood tar to protect it from weathering has turned the building almost black and also increased its flammability. Arsonists would need little more than a cigarette lighter, a gallon of gasoline and a few minutes of surprise. Without a sprinkler installed in the ceiling there's very little chance of saving it. The government is doing what it can to help protect historic wooden churches. Egil Kvarud, a preservationist at the National Directorate for Cultural Heritage ticks off the measures in a multimilliondollar program.