The municipality of Gol is bordered to the north by the municipality of Nord-Aurdal (in Oppland county), to the east by Sør-Aurdal (in Oppland county), to the south by Nes, and to the west by Ål and Hemsedal.

The church is characterized by neo-Gothic style with gables and small towers with crosses.

Gol stave church was saved from destruction by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments (Fortidsminneforeningen), which bought the materials with the intention of re-erecting the church elsewhere.

Financial problems were solved when King Oscar II decided to pay for its relocation and restoration as the central building of his private open-air museum near Oslo.

In 1907, the royal museum was merged with the Norsk Folkemuseum, which now manages the stave church, still nominally belonging to the reigning monarch.