THE STAVE CHURCH
The Stave church on Heimaey is a gift from the Norwegian nation to the people of Icelandic to commemorate 1000 years of Christianity in Iceland. It was built and ceremonially handed over in July 2000. The church is a detailed replica of the Holtdalen stave church which is now a museum church in Trondheim, Norway. It was built in 1170, but exterior corridors are later additions to the church walls.
The historical incentive for building the church is when the men of the Norwegian king Ólafur Tryggvason came to Iceland in the spring of the year 1000 to promote Christianity at the parliament (Althingi). They brought with them wood to build a church where they came first ashore according to Kristnisaga (the saga of Christianity). Among them were Hjalti Skeggjason and Gissur the white. They landed first in Vestmannaeyjar and the first church of the Christianization was built here at the harbor entrance. Supposedly it was devoted to St. Clemence and given to the inhabitants of Vestmannaeyjar.
It is believed that it was built on Hörgaeyri bar north of the bay according to Ólafs sögu Tryggvasonar hinni mestu (The greatest saga of King Ólafur Tryggvason). The Hörgaeyri bar has greatly changed through the last millennium and reduced although it is believed that the Church of St. Clemence stood there until the middle of the 13th century.
Accepting an Icelandic proposal the Norwegian grand parliament (Stortinget) gave a stave church to be built on and sheltered by the new lava at Hringskersgarður harbor wall. The Icelandic Althingi simultaneously funded repairs and improvements of the Skans area, to build walls, grow the land, build a foundation for Landlyst, repair buildings, and build a harbor wall and lighthouse. The construction of the stave church is based on detailed study supervised by the Norwegian archeological institute, NIKU:
The Norwegian state church gave the Icelandic nation a detailed replica of an altar frontal with motives from Ólafs saga helga which dates from about 1320-30. It is among the greatest art from the middle ages preserved in Norway. The church bell was founded in Lomm in Norway where the church's woods were first fitted together and is a gift from the inhabitants of Lomm. Eimskipafélagið Inc., gave the bell tower and transported the wood free of charge from Norway.
Many other gifts have been received such as baptismal font from Isfélagio Inc., a silver goblet from Landakirkja church, oil painting from a couple of ministries and a priest's cope from HS veitur Inc.
Source: Local signage