Voss

Set among the mountains east of Bergen, Voss lies beside a lake at a junction of valleys leading towards the fjords and the interior. Its stone church at Vangen gives the district a particularly striking landmark. Dedicated to Saint Michael in 1277, it replaced an older wooden church at the urging of King Magnus the Lawmender.

The church served generations of farming communities spread through the valleys. During the seventeenth century its old stone tower was replaced by a wooden one, changing the silhouette of the medieval building while its stone walls continued to shelter the local congregation for centuries. In 1814 the church was among the Norwegian polling places where electors were chosen for the constituent assembly that would meet at Eidsvoll.