Photo by Inger Marie Grini
From wooden wonders to modern marvels: Norway in an architectural nutshell
The history of Norwegian architecture is a fascinating mix of Viking craftsmanship, fearless innovation, and the occasional «WTF?»-moment.
Eager to understand the cultural history of a nation? Take a close look at its buildings.
Norway’s a great example. Long before we had sleek wooden skyscrapers (more on that later!) and fancy design awards, our ancestors were busy perfecting the art of not freezing to death.
Early Norwegian architecture was all about survival – sturdy log houses, thick sod roofs, and walls that could withstand both drunken brawls and brutal winters.
These early builders set the tone for Norway’s architectural DNA – functional, durable, and always in sync with nature – which has resulted in an array of historical styles and structures spread across the country.
Here are some of the highlights.
Take it to church!
Hopperstad Stave Church. Photo by Bob Engelsen
Forget about horned helmets (which, by the way, were never a thing): For some real Viking craftsmanship, Norway’s stave churches are the true relics of Norse ingenuity.
Back in the Middle Ages, Norway was home to nearly 2,000 of these intricately carved masterpieces. Today, just 28 remain. The oldest? Urnes Stave Church in Luster, built around 1130 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And in the village of Vik, you’ll find Hopperstad Stave Church – another early example, remarkable for its fusion of Viking-era artistry and medieval Christian motifs.
Urnes Stave Church. Photo by Per Eide | Visit Norway
The biggest is Heddal Stave Church, towering 26 meters high in Notodden – basically the medieval version of a Norwegian skyscraper. And if you prefer something easy to reach, there’s Gol Stave Church, originally built in Hallingdal, but moved to Oslo in 1885, proving that even 13th-century buildings sometimes need a change of scenery.
As for the most beautiful stave church? That’s up for debate – but Hedalen, Røldal and Borgund are definitely in the running. The latter is probably the most famous one as well, as it could easily be mistaken for Dracula’s summer home.
Borgund Stave Church. Photo by Øyvind Heen | Visit Norway
Wood never goes out of style
Mjøstårnet in Brumunddal. Photo by Sven-Erik Hoff
Norway’s love affair with wooden architecture didn’t stop in the Middle Ages – it just got taller, smarter and more high-tech.
Mjøstårnet in Brumunddal, the world’s second tallest timber building, stands at an incredible 85 meters – because why stop at stave churches when you can build a wooden skyscraper containing a hotel, offices, a restaurant and a swimming pool?
Finansparken in Stavanger is a 22,000-square-meter masterpiece constructed without a single nail, while Moholt student village in Trondheim proves that sustainable architecture can be award-winning, eco-friendly, and look incredibly cool.
Finansparken in Stavanger. Photo by Fredrik Ahlsen | Visit Norway
… and it remains a beloved sight in many cities
Bryggen in Bergen. Photo by Bob Engelsen
Norway takes its wooden houses very seriously. Some cities even look like they were built by a particularly ambitious lumberjack.
In Bergen, the UNESCO-listed Bryggen wharf dates back to the 14th century. It still stands strong, despite centuries of fires, storms, and despicable seagull behavior.
In Stavanger, you’ll find Gamle Stavanger, the largest collection of wooden houses in Northern Europe – basically an open-air museum where people still live. Further south, in Kristiansand, the charming old town Posebyen is the perfect place to lower your shoulders and take in the area’s history.
Gamlebyen in Stavanger. Photo by Sven-Erik Knoff
Trondheim boasts the charming Bakklandet district, where picturesque wooden buildings lean at angles that make you wonder if the builders had one aquavit too many.
And then there’s Ålesund, which would have been a wooden wonderland if it hadn’t burned to the ground in 1904. Instead, it was rebuilt in Art Nouveau style – if you’re going to rise from the ashes, you might as well do it with flair.
Bakklandet in Trondheim. Photo by Fredrik Ahlsen | Visit Norway
A Functionalist heaven
Kunstsilo in Kristiansand. Photo by Fredrik Ahlsen | Visit Norway
OK, time to move on from wood to more contemporary materials and expressions. Norwegian architecture has gone through more phases than a teenager trying to find their identity – including Baroque, Rococo and Romanticism – before moving on to the more serious, brick-heavy Neoclassicism of the 19th century.
Then came the 20th century, and with it, Functionalism, which basically said, “If it’s not essential, get rid of it”. Norway took this philosophy to heart, resulting in masterpieces like Villa Stenersen in Oslo – a house so modern in the 1930s that Norwegians probably wondered if aliens had built it.
Ekeberg restaurant in Oslo. Photo by Tord Baklund | Visit Oslo
Another fine example is the Ekeberg Restaurant – perched on a hill, it’s a glassy, geometric dream that lets you sip cocktails while enjoying one of the best views of the city, in the very area where Edvard Munch had the idea for his iconic painting The Scream.
The Oslo City Hall is another Functionalist heavyweight. Completed in 1950, this brick fortress might look a bit austere on the outside, but step inside and you’ll find vibrant murals celebrating Norwegian culture.
The Oslo City Hall. Photo by Nancy Bundt
Modern looks for modern times
Kistefos museum. Photo by Visit Norway | Field Productions
Fast forward to today, and Norway’s architecture has embraced sustainability and cutting-edge design, while still keeping things just minimalist enough to remind you Norwegians are practical people.
The Oslo Opera House, for instance, is an iceberg-shaped marvel that invites visitors to walk all over it – literally. The Twist in Kistefos is a museum that looks like a building tried yoga and got stuck mid-pose.
Oslo Opera House. Photo by Didrick Stenersen | Visit Oslo
The other major Norwegian cities have their landmark buildings as well – and a striking number of them are museums. Trondheim boasts the music museum Rockheim, a neon-lit time machine where Norwegian pop history blasts from every corner.
The Kode Art Museums in Bergen is a modern art lover’s playground, where the building itself could be the next exhibit, and that’s true for Kunstsilo in Kristiansand as well, where you’ll find the world’s largest collection of Nordic Modernist art.
For a completely different experience, visit The Norwegian Petroleum Museum in Stavanger, which – appropriately for a museum documenting the Norwegian oil and gas adventure – looks like an oil platform.
The Norwegian Petroleum Museum in Stavanger. Photo by Svein-Erik Knoff
Architecture off the beaten track
The Salmon Eye. Photo by Tobias Lamberg Torjusen
If you think Norway’s best architecture is exclusive to the big cities, think again.
Some of the country’s most breathtaking modern buildings are found in the most unexpected places, like the ultra-modern cabins Skåpet by Lysefjorden in western Norway, the stunning sauna Soria Moria in Dalen, Telemark and the triangular, gold-plated toilet along the Nordic Scenic Route along the Northern coast of Senja. Holy s**t!
Soria Moria Sauna. Photo by Dag Jenssen | Visit Telemark
The Steilneset Memorial in Vardø, commemorating the victims of Norway’s 17th-century witch trials, is a hauntingly beautiful glass-and-wood structure in the Arctic wilderness, while the Trollstigen Visitor Center looks like a Bond villain’s lair (it’s really just there to provide a coffee break with epic views).
If the wet element and gourmet cuisine is more up your alley, there are two places you’ll need to pay a visit – the underwater restaurant Under on the southern tip of Norway, and Iris, which is located inside the art installation Salmon Eye in the middle of the Hardangerfjord. They each have a Michelin star – and both give new meaning to the notion «eye candy».
Under restaurant in Lindesnes. Photo by Ivar Kvaal
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