It is among the oldest stave churches in Norway, with parts of the lumber construction dating from the latter half of the 11th century.

The decoration on capitals of the columns and outside of the church embodies the visual evidence of the Viking culture’s transformation, assimilation, and adoption of Christianity.

The north portal of the church is defined as the Urnes style, which contains decorations derived from Norwegian mythology dating back to the 12th century.

[3] The Urnes Stave Church was built around the year 1130 or shortly thereafter, and still stands in its original location; it is believed to be the oldest of its kind.

The first church was built during the period of transition to Christianity in the palisade style, in which structural members were embedded into the ground.

The cylindrical columns with cubic capitals and semi-circular arches in the church revealed the borrowing from the spatial structures of Romanesque stone architecture.

Strap-work panels were taken from the previous 11th century Urnes Church and then incorporated into the new structure, keeping elements of Viking tradition alive.

The Urnes Stave Church is also home to numerous medieval liturgical objects for public worship.

[5] In a Christian sense, the portals are the symbolic embodiment in the mortal world of the chaos and struggle with evil in daily life.

It is possible that the decoration of the earlier church featured some scenes from Norse mythology, a likely reason for its premature reconstruction in the 12th century.

During the 20th century the church underwent a restoration, and the richly decorated wall planks were covered to stop further deterioration.

The construction of the raised central area with staves, strings and cross braces, and the roof itself, also date from medieval times.