Øye Stave Church is one of the country's smallest of its kind, and enjoys a beautiful location on the western end of lake Vangsmjøsa.
The church is situated along the E16, and offers private parking. When first built, it is likely to have been standing further down towards the lake – north-east of the monument. The graves were still visible only a few years back.
In 1747, the people of Øye built a new church. The stave church then disappeared. Did it burn down, or did it collapse in a storm? Or had it been demolished and sold as parts, as was common practice at the time? Not even people born in the early 1800s knew anything about the old church.
However, in 1935 repair work had to be carried out on the foundations of the new church. Before putting the floorboards back, the workers took a look underneath the church floor and spotted wooden materials.
When they got it all out, they realised that it was 156 stave-church pieces!
Valdres Folk Museum at Fagernes expressed a wish to have the church re-erected. Farmer Erik Øye donated land at Øyebakka, and it was established that the church could be recreated in its original design. In 1965, the job was completed.
You can visit the stave church every day between Thursday and Sunday in the period 20 June to 18 August Opening hours are 10.00-17.00. (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
NEW: The Kulturstøga in Øye, on the other side of the road from the stave church, has an exhibition of an censer from the stave church, a sword and a weaving spoon from the Viking Age that were found in a field in Øye, and an ax head from Helin. In addition, there is information about our thousand-year church history and stave church history with text, pictures and cartoon series. Kulturstøga is open at the same time as the stave church and part of the entrance ticket.
