Øye Stave Church

Øye Stave Church was probably built towards the end of the 1100s. Its original location was in the fields facing Vangsmjøsa. This was an extremely wet area, and during the spring flooding the graves were often filled with water and stones had to be added to the coffins in order to lower them down. The church was in a poor state of repair, and it either rotted away or was taken by the wind. 1747 saw the consecration of the new Øye Church. The stave church disappeared. In the 1930s, work had to be done on the foundations of new Øye Church. Under the church floor, Øye Stave Church was found - 156 pieces in total. No one knows why it was stored here. It was in the end decided to erect the stave church, and it was consecrated in 1965.

Today Øye Stave Church is used for weddings and Midsummer Mass only. The church has a strong Catholic medieval character with a narrow opening to the choir and pews along the walls only. It features copies of two medieval portals (probably from the 1100s) with capitals and numerous animal decorations. The door has a medieval ring handle. On the altar stands a crucifix dating back to the 1200s, featuring a Christ-figure from the 1300s. The wooden baptismal font from the 1300s is quite unique, and one of the pews in the choir may be from the Middle Ages.

In May 2023 a small exhibition about the stave church was opened just across the road from the church. It is accessible during the church's opening hours, and shows a rune stone, a cencer from the old stave church, a sword and a weaving spoon from the Viking age, as well as an axe head from Helin. There is also information about our one thousand year old church history.