If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 55

Exterior, Chapel in the Hills, Rapid City, South Dakota
[Dale A. Jensen, photographer]

Interior, Chapel in the Hills, Rapid City, South Dakota
[Jack Tshamer, photographer]

Both cards are products of Rushmore Photo & Gifts, Rapid City, South Dakota.

Stave churches were built in Norway during the 12th and 13th centuries so it is a little like stepping back in time to see this church that looks today much as those older churches looked when they were new.  Earlier I posted the photo below and some other pictures from Little Norway near Mt. Horeb in Wisconsin.  At that time I mentioned this church in Rapid City, South Dakota.  I think there may be yet another one in or near St. Paul, Minnesota and perhaps even others in different places.  I must admit to being curious as to how many of these reproductions there might be in the United States.

A few years ago a friend sent these two cards above of the Chapel in the Hills located in Rapid City, South Dakota.  It is an exact replica of the Borgund Stave Church in Norway.  Dedicated in 1969, blueprints of the original church were sent from Norway to be used in the construction of this church.  Unlike the one at Little Norway, part of an outdoor museum, this one is being used as a church and is associated with the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  It is the home of the radio ministry of Lutheran Vespers.

Stave Church at Little Norway, Wisconsin

Borgund Stave Church, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Though I have posted this postcard above showing the Borgund Stave Church before I am using it again so a comparison can be made between the original church in Norway and the replicas in South Dakota and Wisconsin.  Note a stonewall, like the one at Borgund, has been erected on the grounds of the Chapel in the Hills while this has not been done at Little Norway.

The Stave Churches in Norway for the most part were tarred, creosoted or painted with some sort of dark preservative.  It does not appear that these buildings in the United States have the traditional dark colored preservative on them.  When the wood is left untreated it will “silver” as the building ages.

Four supporting pillars inside the church represent the four gospels in the New Testament.  The decorative carvings were the combined efforts of Erik Fridstrøm of Norway and Helge Christiansen of Rapid City.  A log cabin typical of those used by immigrants can also be found on the grounds as well as a grass-roofed stabbur (a small out building usually used for storage) that houses a gift shop.

Both Little Norway and Chapel in the Hills are on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.


For more pictures and additional information see: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_in_the_Hills
http://www.chapel-in-the-hills.org

http://www.littlenorway.com/

Little Norway's Stave Church

Borgund Stave Church, Norway, 1900s postcard

This is the Borgund Stave church in Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Using Bergen as a reference point the church is located in the county or fylke just north of Bergen. The original church was built between 1180 and 1250 AD and has had additions and restorations since that time. A new church was built in 1868 and the one shown here is no longer used as a church but was purchased for preservation as a Norwegian ancient monument. Borgund Stave church served as a model for the Stave church constructed by M. Thams & Co in 1892/1893 for The Columbian Exposition or World’s Fair held in Chicago, Illinois, 1893. It was made in Norway, taken apart and shipped to the United States where it was put back together as an exhibition. After the Fair it was dismantled and reconstructed for a private estate in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and still later it was taken apart one more time and rebuilt at what is now Little Norway near Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin. Another reconstructed Stave church in the United States patterned after the Borgund church can be found in Rapid City, South Dakota.

We were fortunate enough to visit Little Norway two or three different times when our older son was attending graduate school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Madison is only about 20 miles away from Mt. Horeb. When we were there we took a few pictures that I thought I would share. Little Norway today is much like the open-air museums in Norway. The docents or guides dress in tradition Norwegian costumes and the gift shop offers many handcrafted items made by local artists of Scandinavian descent.
Below is an example of one of the handcrafted items, a wooden plate with Rosemaling by local artist Patty Tofsland.

Rosemaling on wooden plate, 8" diameter

Little Norway was originally a real farm homesteaded by Osten and Birgit Haugen who arrived from Telemark, Norway in 1865. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places and worth the effort to visit should you find yourself in southwestern Wisconsin. Like many immigrants settling in the prairie states the Haugens first lived in a dug out cave in the hillside until they could build the house.

Small wooden building, possibly pump house at Little Norway, Wisconsin

This is one of several smaller structures at Little Norway. One is called the water pump house but I am not sure if this is that one. You can see the roof-lines of other buildings on both the left and right sides of the photo.

The Stave Church at Little Norway.

The replicated church building is not used as a church but is part of the open-air museum. There are a few artifacts displayed inside.

Close up of the carvings around the door of the church.

Close up of the front of the church.

Here is another view of the church at Little Norway as seen through the trees from a distance.

Informational marker about the Stave church at Little Norway, Wisconsin

For more information about Little Norway check out http://www.littlenorway.com
Information about Stave churches in general can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stave_church and about Borgund Stave church at http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgund_Stave_church


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Update:

When Little Norway in Wisconsin was closed, the Stave Church was dismantled in 2016 and shipped back to Norway where it was reassembled and can now be found in the community of Orkdal, Trondelag, Norway.  This was the fourth time the church was taken apart and put back together; first when it was shipped from Norway to Chicago for the World's Fair in 1893, then from Chicago to a private estate in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, then to Mt. Horeb's Little Norway in Wisconsin, and now back to Norway.