Øye stave church

Historie

Øye stave church is situated in Øye, a village in the municipality of Vang, Oppland county, Norway. It is a triple nave stave church and dates from the second half of the 12th century. The church was situated next to the lake Vangsmjøse in Øye. Here, however, the river Rødøla would flood almost every spring and, corpses would be flushed out of their graves. As a result the church was moved, this time to a location further away from the river. In 1747 the church was torn down and hidden away, and a new church was built on the same location. The new church was renovated in 1935, and below the floor was found the material from the old church. 156 pieces of the church were used to rebuild the stave church. The construction was completed in 1965. Øye stave church is one of the smallest and oldest remaining stave churches in Norway.