Garmo stave church

The Garmo stave church is a stave church, originally in Garmo in Lom municipality was in Oppland (Norway) and was built in Maihaugen in Lillehammer again.

The building

The present church was probably built around 1200, was built in succession of an earlier church. She was originally a simple church with a rectangular nave, a small chancel and probably a portico. Later the church was extended in 1690 and the bell tower was added. It was built in 1730 to a cruciform church with a transept cultivation in block construction.

Demolition and reconstruction

The church was in the 19th century too small for the congregation. The parish priest was planning to build a new, larger church. The old church was demolished in 1880 and therefore the buildings auctioned at an auction.

Trond Eklestuen, a collector and collector of old objects of the northern Gudbrandsdal bought most of the staff work at this auction, during the baptismal font and the dragon heads in the Universitetets Oldsaksamling in Christiania (Oslo ) were taken. Later Trond Eklestuen came into contact with the collector Anders Sandvig and together they were able to gather most of the elements of the demolished church. On July 30, 1921, the reconstruction of the stave church was opened in Maihaugen in Lillehammer. The new parts are marked so that they can be distinguished from the original structure.

Inventory

From the original inventory of the church today the baptismal font and a painting is available. Most of the paintings are in Glomdalsmuseet Elverum. The dragon heads of the roof are housed in the Museum Oldsaksamlingen. The altarpieces, the pulpit and many paintings are in private ownership in the municipality Lom.

The Romanesque baptismal font made ​​of soapstone dates from the 12th century and was made ​​in the northern Gudbrandsdal. The wooden lid also comes from the Middle Ages. In the pre-Reformation period, the baptismal water was changed only once a year and therefore the font had to be closed with a lid. There are also traces of a seal on the lid, which should prevent the theft of baptismal water. ( The water then magical powers were attributed ).

The pulpit dates from the church Hustad in Fræna. It was sculpted by Peder Knudsen Kjørsvik 1730.

The Garmo stave church is still used as a church, and is very popular for weddings in the summer months.