page_title: Våler, Norway
section_title: Church history
hierarchical_section_title: Våler, Norway / History / Church history
caption_attribution_description: Norsk bokmål: Våler kirke i Våler
context_page_description: Våler is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Solør. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Våler.
context_section_description: The oldest information known about Mariakirken, is from the 17th century. It was a stave church, and it was by 1686 in very bad condition. Eight hundred years after Saint Olaf, it probably wasn't the same church-building which was built during his reign. Most probably it had been rebuilt at least once, but it must still have been a few hundred years old. It was restored late 17th century, and then lasted another century.
  In 1804, the people of Våler asked the King permission to build a new church. The old stave church was yet again in bad condition, and also too small for the growing community. It was permitted by the King, and so the construction of a new church started the same year. The church tower is dated 1805, and the dedication of the new church was 26 June 1806. The old stave church was then torn down. Today, there is a monument where the old church stood.
  On 29 May 2009 the Våler church was destroyed by an arson attack, which is suspected to be an act of satanist.
caption: Våler church
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