Stave Church Gallery

View historical items—some being exhibited outside of Norway for the first time ever—to explore how the Vikings’ beliefs impacted their daily life.

Delve into the myths and legends that guided the Vikings, beginning with the creation myth that explains how the world was created from the bones of giants, held together by a gigantic tree and populated by bold gods who inspired heroic and ruthless deeds. 

The Gods and Goddesses
Learn about some of the Vikings’ deities, including these 4 Norse gods:

• Odin, the ruler of Asgard, who traveled the 9 worlds seeking knowledge and truth. He was helped in his quest by 2 loyal ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Munnin (Memory), who acted as his messengers.   
• Thor, the mighty protector god, who controlled storms and killed giants using his hammer, Mjolnir, which was powerful enough to level mountains. 
• The clever Loki, a trickster who delighted in creating chaos. As the son of a giantess, Loki had mixed family loyalties and no one—god, giant or any other creature— could ever completely trust him. 
• Freya, the beautiful, feather-cloaked goddess of love, who searched for her dead husband among the slain on battlegrounds and brought a chosen few back with her to the afterlife.

Experimenta una presentación de esta reproducción auténtica aunque en pequeña escala de la iglesia de madera o Gol stavkirke. Construida alrededor de 1212 A.D. en Hallingdal, Noruega, la iglesia de madera original fue salvada de la demolición por una sociedad de preservación y ahora se encuentra en el Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, ubicado en Oslo.