Picture Day Friday: Norwegian Stave Church

This is an ancient stave church in the village of Borgund in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is the best-preserved of Norway's 28 standing stave churches. It was built between c.1180 and c.1250.

From Wikipedia about stave churches: "Its walls are formed by vertical wooden boards, or staves. The four corner posts were connected to one another by ground sills, resting on a stone foundation. The rest of the staves then rise from the ground sills, each stave notched and grooved along the sides so that they lock into one another, forming a sturdy wall. The ceiling is held up with "scissor beams" or two steeply angled supports crossing each other to form an X shape with a narrow top span and a broader bottom span."

Borgund's church has tiered, overhanging roofs, topped with a tower. The tower boasts four dragon heads similar to the ones that used to adorn the prows of Viking warships.