Reinli Stave Church, Medieval stave church in Sør-Aurdal, Norway
Reinli is a wooden medieval church built around 1300, standing in a rural valley with a simple rectangular layout comprising a nave and choir area. A covered walkway encircles the structure, sheltering the entrance and passages on all sides.
Earlier wooden churches once stood on this exact spot, and the current building replaced them in the early 1300s as a more substantial place of worship. This succession of structures reflects how the community's spiritual needs shaped the site over time.
The name originates from the Reinald family who held land in this valley long ago, and the interior reflects simple rural worship practices common across medieval Scandinavia. Visitors can sense how ordinary people gathered here rather than in grand cathedral spaces.
The site sits on accessible ground in a rural location, and summer months offer the best window for visiting when the interior opens to guests. The setting is modest in scale, so a short visit provides enough time to see everything.
The building retains all twelve original consecration crosses from 1326 carved into its wooden walls, making it the sole stave church in Norway with such a complete set. These marks were scratched during a blessing ceremony and remain visible today, though weathered by centuries.
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