St. Olav´s Church

The church has been a landmark for seafarers traveling through Karmsund strait, during the past 750 years. It has been named as a royal chapel, which also meant that it was included in the privilege of Indulgence granted to the royal chapels, and for that reason the church has been a pilgrim church. This is indicated by a a pontifical privilege from 1308, which meant that those who visited the church during the important festive days, would be granted up to one year of indulgence. The church was built as part of a bigger royal manor.

In the early 14th century, Håkon Magnusson converted the St. Olav’s Church into a royal collegiate church – together with three other churches in Norway. A collegiate church was a sort of royal «cathedral», used as a university where the king could educate his own priests and consultants, who would be loyal to the king. The church was dedicated to St. Olav, Norway’s national saint and «eternal king». With this, King Håkon marked the ties back to the legendary saint and king. It is believed that St. Olav’s Church had relics related to the saint and king, and it became an important pilgrim church. St. Olav’s Church was built in a neo-Gothic style. A typical feature of this style are the lancet arches on the top of windows and portals. St. Olav’s Church at Avaldsnes has stylistic features that indicates that the craftsmen who built it came from the Bergen area. The profiles we can see on the St. Olav’s Church, are typical for the period between 1250 and 1280. It is possible that Håkon Håkonsson used master builders from the building community at Westminster Abbey in London for the church.