We will be on a cruise in May, stopping at Bergen, Eidfjord, and Stavanger. I would like to see a stave church and know there is one in Bergen, but RS says there are better ones “covered in this book”. I have not been able to find any others in the book (Scandinavian Cruise Ports), and wanted to know if there are other, “better” stave churches accessible from the day-long stops above.
Posted by
Sweden
6328 posts
I guess that Fantoft is the one you can see from a cruise visit to those three towns. Maybe Røldal or Hopperstad would be an option from Eidfjord, but they are both around 2.5 h from Eidfjord.
Posted by
307 posts
The one in Bergen is easily accessible.
There are other churches but are likely not on your cruise itinerary.
https://www.fjordnorway.com/things-to-do/culture-and-heritage/stave-churches
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
See the map on p. 708 of your book for locations of the Borgund, Urnes, and Hopperstad stave churches, which I believe are also described in the fjord area chapters.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
I see the 3 churches on the map now, and the write up on the Borgund Stave Church. Unfortunately it doesn’t look doable from our ship. I’ll have to come back ! I need to come back and see Knute Rockne’s birthplace in Voss too, having grown up in South Bend . Thanks
Posted by
Berlin
2181 posts
Overview of stave churches in Norway:
https://www.visitnorway.com/typically-norwegian/stave-churches/
Unfortunately none is really close to ports you arrive.
Tip: If you wish to visit one ultimately you can try to rent a car in Eidfjord and drive up street 13 to Hopperstad stave church. Doable in a day (2:20 hrs each direction), depending on time in harbor. If you have more than 8+ hours in the port you can easily make it - and the route is really nice.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you all for this great information! I think I will stick with going to the Fantoft Stave Church in Bergen since it is so accessible. The others look beautiful too...I will just have to plan to come back!