Page 15 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

Olav Haraldsson be<ame k.ing ot a
united Norway in 1016 and went
on to <onvert the <ountry to
Christianity. Pagan statues were
tom do'Ml and stave <hur<hes
built. He died in battle in 1030.
A year later, his body was
exhumed and he was
de<lared a saint

Rich ornamenta1ioo in stave churches
is evidence of Norway's Viking era,
when skilled carving techniques were
developed to combine art and
woodworking in construction. The
depiction of animals such as dragons
and serpents in these carvings is
thought to derive from Viking art.