Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-12-28

terdal church, that Of Lom, near And
word, Urnes, beside the Lyster Fiord,
and that of Eidsborg in the Telemarken
district. All these churches are called
in Norway, "Stavekirker," or stave-
churches, because all were originally
constructed by the "reisvark," or per-
peudicular method Of joining the hewn
pine timbers in their walls. The same
treatment extended to porches and to
all portions of the superstructures. The
'stavekirker" of Borgund, Hitterdal,
LON and Urnes are the more noted. All
are still used as houses of worship, save
the Borgund Church, which is now
national curiosity, protected from desc
Grafton and decay by the Antiquarian
Society OF Christians.
Of these "stavekirker," the Borgund
church is the tiniest, most primitive and
ancient; the Hitterdal church the most
unique and symmetric, if not indeed
beautiful; and the church of Urnas
most interesting from its proximity to
prehistoric surroundings. Borgund, in
the heart of deep valley set round
about with snow-capped mountains,
suggests toy church dropped there in
the vagrant play of some infant god of
Morse mythology. 1t has almost the
true pagoda form; diminishing, square,
and steep-slanted roofs, rising above
each other; the third extremely protrud-
ing and prominent. This is in turn sur
mounted by a distinct structure with
disproportionaly large roof, from which
rises central pinnacle, very like the
minaret of q mosque, the peaked gables
of the highest two stories being pro.
vided with most distinctly Oriental out
wardly curying, horn-shaped ornamen-
talions. Its entire outward appearance
is barbaric and grotesque, and but for
its quaint half-Gothic, alf-Norman
porches, strikingly like the sunny south
| porches of the very ancient parish
churches Of England, would suggest
that its dark interior was lifting housing
only for some gigantic -belching
| Hindoo god. Its inner dimensions are
ridiculously small. The nave is but
twenty-three feet long, and about twenty
wide; the chancel is only sixteen feet
long and eleven in width; but is one
mass of carvings-strange old crosses,
horrible delineations of the passions,
grotcsque dragon heads, and loathsome
intertwined serpents, interspersed with
Runic inscriptions; as though in the
stern olden days, none might near the
sacred presences without visible tokens
of those earthly powers which delight
in conjuring an ever-present hell.
The Hitterdal church is more sym
metric than that OF Borgund. Its di-
mensions are somewhat greater; and its
six steep shingled roofs are carried to "a
far greater heighth. Three curious
towers rise at equal gradient. The low
est above the apse, and the second
above the chancel are circular in form;
have cone-shaped peaks, like neatly
matched English hay-stacks; and the
third, above where the nave is sepa.
rated from the chancel by the diminu.
tive transept, is sharply peaked from
above q square tower. The three sus.
tain huge carved wooden crosses. An
interesting popularity of its Interior /:
4 that the central tower is supported by
wooden columns of tremendous height
each one of which is single tree Of
Norway pine, stripped of its bark, ant
whose dimensions have never beer
equalled in any trees since found IL
Norwegian forests. Among other curl
osities of the Hitterdal church is
chair of remarkable solidity, standing
beside the altar. Its carvings are
! amazing in their character and profu
fusion; and it is pretty well settled by
antiquarians that it was made in the
: year 300. This leaves it amongS thu
: Oldest, if not the oldest, of wooder
chairs in existence. Two facts SHOULD
be kept in mind regarding these ancien
/ "stayekrker," which certainly ado
greatly to their antique interest. NJ
r other material but pine has been uset
! in their construction or restorations
and every one was originally bull
} after the true church form. Each on
possesses nave, a chancel and sid
. aisles, usually transepts giving the out
$ lines of the cross, and they ali stant
5 stand east and west with the altar AM
; apse at the head or east end of the cross
: On tine east bank of the Lyster Fiord
opposite Solvern, is perched the lionel
Q hamlet of Urnes. But tiny patch a
I tillable land surrounds it, and the
l come the mountains which pierce tn
i clouds above. Jutting out into III
s gloomy ford is little cone-like promon
Y tory. Upon the peak of this stands th
= lonely "stavekirker" of UTnps. Ant
p quarians tell us that here once stood
i temple to Thor. Scattered all about al
: huge mounds, called "Kempehouge,
n where mighty Vikings and prehistori
IS heroes lie buried. One feels at weir
o old Urn@s as though he has come to til
n very inner temple of Morse antiquit
:, and mythology. The church itself il
1t tensities this weirdly fascinating feelin!
6 To my mind its lonely situation an
h sombre interior pique the fancy to
l. more intense and searching grasp upo
the mighty past of Norselaud than an
IS other spot or scene in Norway. I'll
Is pine beams of the interior are tremenl
st ous in size and black with age. I'll
D carvings are even more fanciful an
t. grotesque than at Borgund or uitterda
n Behind the altar are rude pictures of I'll
a u apostles, 400 years old. No or
Ie knows how old is that most curiol
5, candelabrum ever seeu, to be fOun
le here, rudely wrought tiny iron shi
t. the chalice is $50 years old; beside Il
,r altar hang the priests vestments date
a 1851; but all these things are compari
l. lively modern embellishments. A cur
T. osity of earlier date is a huge beal
d across the chancel to which are yet a
lt tached some rotting pulleys. This WI
is the ancient "gabe stok," or pillor
h from which in those dear old tim
y many long to have returned naught
i, children and offending parents we
lie strung up in sight of the congregatic
n which had gathered for consolation, TO
ID giveness and prayer!
is While the entire agricultural pop
lie lation of Norway may be regarded as
is the peasant class, by far the larger pc
ry ton of these are what are known
ID bunders or udalmen. These own abs