Church of Staves, Door County, Post #7

Though it was only completed in 1995, the Stavkirke or Church of Staves on Washington Island looks like it has been here for centuries.  

According to Wikipeida, “A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts are called stafr in Old Norse (stav in modern Norwegian).”

There is a strong Viking influence in many of the architectural features.

The church is beautiful and spiritual in its own way, but the prayer path leading to it was delightfully inspirational.  

Believe it or not, I missed a few of the plaques, so I had to borrow this last one from my friend’s collection. That’s kind of how I’ll feel in just another three months. 

For more information, click on these links:

https://washingtonisland.com/stavkirke/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/washington-island-stave-church

https://www.doorcounty.com/business-directory/stavkirke/