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Fantoft Stave Church (Norwegian: Fantoft stavkirke; Nynorsk: Fantoft stavkyrkje) is a reconstructed stave church in the Fana borough of the city of Bergen, Norway.

History

The church was originally built around the year 1150 at Fortun in Sogn, a village near the inner or eastern end of Sognefjord. In 1879, the new Fortun Church (Fortun kyrkje) was constructed as a replacement for the medieval stave church. Fantoft Stave Church was threatened with demolition, as were hundreds of other stave churches in Norway. Fantoft Stave Church was bought by consul Fredrik Georg Gade and saved by moving it in pieces to Fana near Bergen in 1883. Outside the church stands a stone cross from Tjora in Sola.

On 6 June 1992, the church was destroyed by arson; the first in a string of church burnings by members of the early Norwegian black metal scene. At first, the fire was thought to have been caused by lightning or an electrical failure. In 1994, Varg Vikernes of the one-man band Burzum was found guilty of burning Old Åsane Church and Storetveit Church in Bergen, the burning of Skjold Church in Vindafjord, and the burning of Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo. He was also charged with the burning of Fantoft Stave Church, although the jurors voted not guilty. The judges called this an error but did not overturn the decision. Reconstruction of the church began soon after the fire, taking six years to complete. Since 1997, the church has been surrounded by a security fence.

A photograph of the church's burnt shell appeared on the cover of the 1993 Burzum EP Aske (Norwegian for "ashes").

Gallery

• Details of church's roof
• Fantoft Stave Church
• Fantoft Stave Church chandelier
• Fantoft Stave Church chancel
• Fantoft Stave Church rafters and posts
• Fantoft Stave Church baptistery
• Fantoft Stave Church ceiling
• Fantoft Stave Church decorative art
• Stone cross outside Fantoft Stave Church
• Fantoft Stave Church at night

See also

• Until the Light Takes Us, documentary film that includes a clip on the arson

References

1. Nina Aldin Thune. "Fantoft stavkirke". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
2. Anne Marta Hoff. "Fortun kyrkje". Norges Kirker. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
3. "Fantoft Stave Church History". Fantoft Stavkirke. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
4. "Fantoft stavkirke". Kunsthistorie. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
5. "Metal-fans valfarter til stavkirke". NRK Hordaland. Archived from the original on 2004-08-11. Retrieved November 1, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. Campion, Chris (2005-02-20). "In the face of death". The Observer. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2007-10-06.

External links

• Fantoft Stavkirke (in Norwegian)

v t e Stave churches
Old Norwegian churches	Borgund Stave Church Eidsborg Stave Church Flesberg Stave Church Garmo Stave Church Gol Stave Church Grip Stave Church Haltdalen Stave Church Hedalen Stave Church Heddal Stave Church Hegge Stave Church Hopperstad Stave Church Høre Stave Church Høyjord Stave Church Kaupanger Stave Church Kvernes Stave Church Lomen Stave Church Lom Stave Church Nore Stave Church Øye Stave Church Reinli Stave Church Ringebu Stave Church Rollag Stave Church Rødven Stave Church Røldal Stave Church Torpo Stave Church Undredal Stave Church Urnes Stave Church Uvdal Stave Church
Other notable churches	Vang Stave Church Hedared stave church Greensted Church Skaga stave church Gustav Adolf Stave Church Fantoft Stave Church Fåvang Stave Church Chapel in the Hills
List of	stave churches in Norway later stave churches and replicas archaeological sites and dismantled stave churches
Related	Architecture of Norway Vernacular Black metal-related church arson by Varg Vikernes Heathen hof Medieval Scandinavian architecture

60°20′21″N 5°21′12″E / 60.33917°N 5.35333°E / 60.33917; 5.35333

• 12th-century churches in Norway
• Churches completed in 1997
• Stave churches in Norway
• Churches in Bergen
• Churches destroyed by arson
• Rebuilt churches
• Buildings and structures completed in 1150
• Churches completed in the 1150s
• Buildings and structures in Norway destroyed by arson
• Anti-Christian sentiment in Norway