Interior, showing arcade, supporting columns, "Saint Andrew's crosses" and gallery arches above

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   𝗘𝗻𝗮ʳ𝑔𝑒𝑖𝑎 (detondev@social.linux.pizza)'s status on Friday, 12-Jun-2026 04:59:14 JST 𝗘𝗻𝗮ʳ𝑔𝑒𝑖𝑎

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   Borgund Stave Church is a Norwegian village church that has survived through about 830 years. It's notable for how much is preserved, from it's rare crested ridge caps to Norway's sole surviving stave-built free-standing bell tower.

   The four outer dragon heads are perhaps the most distinctive of all non-Christian symbols adorning it. The reason for them is uncertain. If pagan, they're recruited to the Christian cause in the battle between Good and Evil. They may have been intended to keep away evil spirits thought to threaten the church building.

   On the lower side panel of the steeple are four carved circular cutouts. The carvings are weather-beaten, tarred and difficult to decipher, and there is disagreement about what they symbolize. Some believe they represent the four evangelists, symbolised by an eagle, an ox, a lion and a man. Hauglid describes the carvings as "dragons that extend their heads over to the neighboring field's dragon and bite into it", and points out their similarity to carvings at Høre Stave Church.