Fåberg church

The church in Fåberg

Fåberg Church (Norwegian: Fåberg kirke) is a cruciform church in the village of Fåberg in the municipality of Lillehammer in Oppland County. The church is a timber-framed structure and can accommodate 292 people. It is a cruciform church, like most of the churches that were built in the 18th century in the Gudbrand Valley, inspired by the cathedral in Oslo.

Fåberg Church is the only one of these churches with its tower on the west end; the others have a central tower. It is believed that the local architect Svend Tråseth designed the church. He later built several churches in the Gudbrand Valley and Valdres.

The church was renovated in the 1800s by simplifying the interior and painting the walls white.[3] During restoration in 1956 the church was returned to its old style. The baptismal font carved from soapstone dates from the 1100s.The altar has a painting by the Fåberg artist Ole Larsen Smerud. Smerud studied painting in Copenhagen, where he worked as a court painter and heraldic artist. Smerud's painting of Jesus on the cross was a gift to the church in 1810.
Two doors from the old Fåberg Stave Church are preserved at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. A medieval crucifix from the stave church is on display at Maihaugen. The old alms box from the church, dating from 1668, is now in Garmo Stave Church at Maihaugen.

Next to the church stands the Fåberg stone, a runestone believed to have been one of three monoliths standing near the church. The church can be reached via Norwegian County Road 255.