Legend
There is a legend about the church; during the Black Death in the middle of the 14th century Hedalen was depopulated, and the valley became a wilderness. A hunter one day shot an arrow after a bird, but instead of hitting his prey, it missed and struck the bell. Then, there he found the church, standing in the middle of the dense forest.
As the hunter believed this must be a church for huldra or other supernatural beings, he took his flint and steel and threw it over the church. This was something believed to seize property from huldra, and so he wanted to prevent the church from disappearing. On the place where the steel fell, a farm was later built which still has the name Ildjarnstad (Firesteel).
In the church the hunter shot a bear which had made its lair by the altar. The skin from this bear still hangs on the wall of the sacristy.
Read more about this topic: Hedal Stave Church
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