Vang Stave Church
A Viking wooden church built in Norway in the 12th-13th century and rebuilt in the Giant Mountains in the mid-19th century.
The story
The church stood in Vang, Norway, but had become too small and in 1841 was put up for auction to be demolished. It was bought by King Frederick William IV of Prussia, a lover of medieval art, who had it dismantled and shipped to Germany. At the suggestion of Countess Friederike von Reden it was rebuilt in Brückenberg, now Karpacz, for the mountain Protestants, and consecrated in 1844. The oldest parts, the columns and the portals carved with dragons and interlace, are the originals.
Why go
A piece of medieval Norway in the middle of the Polish woods, its carvings intact after eight hundred years.
In the itineraries
Get directions ↗OpenStreetMap ↗
Saved. You'll find everything in My trip, where you can split it into days and see it on the map.
Saved on this device: you can open it even without a connection. All your saved pages are in Offline guides.
Weather forecast
The forecast for the next 7 days at this spot: sky, temperatures, rain and wind.
Forecast by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), from the models of national weather services. Your browser downloads it directly from Open-Meteo, and only when you ask. In the mountains and at sea the weather changes quickly: check the official forecast as well before you set off.
Getting there
- By train. The nearest station is Karpacz station, 2.6 km away. Alternatively: Miłków station, 4.6 km away.
- By air. The nearest airport is Wrocław Airport (WRO), about 89 km away.
- Parking. There are many signposted car parks within a kilometre; the nearest is 200 m away, paid.
Stations, ports, airports and car parks from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); distances as the crow flies. Timetables and connections change: check them before you travel.
Climate month by month
The most pleasant months for weather are from June to August, with average highs between 18 and 29 °C. From November to March night-time temperatures drop below freezing on average. The wettest month is August (about 94 mm), the driest April.
| Month | Temperature | High / low | Rain mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | from -7 to -2 °C | -2° -7° | 65 |
| Feb | from -6 to 1 °C | 1° -6° | 60 |
| Mar | from -4 to 5 °C | 5° -4° | 49 |
| Apr | from 0 to 10 °C | 10° 0° | 45 |
| May | from 4 to 14 °C | 14° 4° | 65 |
| Jun | from 9 to 19 °C | 19° 9° | 80 |
| Jul | from 10 to 21 °C | 21° 10° | 73 |
| Aug | from 11 to 21 °C | 21° 11° | 94 |
| Sep | from 7 to 17 °C | 17° 7° | 71 |
| Oct | from 3 to 11 °C | 11° 3° | 64 |
| Nov | from -2 to 4 °C | 4° -2° | 55 |
| Dec | from -5 to 0 °C | 0° -5° | 57 |
Averages for 2015–2024, estimated for an altitude of 837 m. Air: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), corrected for the altitude of the place; rain: average monthly total. These are indicative values: the weather on any given day can be very different, so always check the forecast before you go.
On foot and on the water, nearby
Nearby
- Karpacz and ŚnieżkaNature · 5 km as the crow flies
- Chojnik CastleHistory and art · 9 km as the crow flies
- Valley of Palaces and GardensHistory and art · 13 km as the crow flies
- Jelenia GóraTown · 14 km as the crow flies
- Szklarska Poręba waterfallsNature · 16 km as the crow flies
- ★ Krzeszów AbbeyHistory and art · 24 km as the crow flies
← See it on the map with all 28 placesGuide to Lower Silesia