It is the main church for the Haltdalen parish which is part of the Gauldal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

Style features and dendrochronological analyses show that the church was likely built in the 12th century, possibly around the year 1170.

[4][5] In 1703, the parish priest complained that the church in Haltdalen was "ancient and completely worthless" and also too small for the rapidly growing congregation.

From 1882-1883, the old church was disassembled and moved to the grounds of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology where they were rebuilt as a museum.

In 1937, the whole church was again disassembled and moved to a new open-air museum in Sverresborg, just outside the city of Trondheim.

[4][5][8] In 2004, a brand new copy of the pre-1703 church was built on the south side of the Haltdalen cemetery, a short distance north of its historic location.