Høyjord Stave Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sandefjord Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the village of Høyjord. It is the church for the Høyjord parish which is part of the Sandefjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg. The brown, wooden church was built in a stave church design during the late 12th century using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 150 people.
The church is the only stave church still standing in Vestfold county. It is also Norway's southernmost stave church that still looks like its original form. The church is one of three remaining center post churches () in Norway. The present stave church is commonly dated to around the year 1300, however, parts of the church were constructed in the 1100s and in 1275.
The church is single-naved building with a square chancel. It is a Numedal-type stave church. Restorations were initiated in the 1600s. After World War II it also underwent restoration. The medieval nave and the chancel's main structural components are preserved. Its wooden vault over the chancel has been reconstructed.
History
The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1374, but the church was not built that year. The church was constructed in two different centuries. The present chancel of the church was built some time between the years 1150 and 1200. It was built in a 12th-century Romanesque style. The small building originally served as the whole church. About 100 years later, in 1275, a much larger Gothic-style nave was built to the west of the original building. After the nave was completed, the old part of the building became the choir. The nave had 12 large staves holding up the roof, each with a unique design plus it had a large central stave post that held up the roof. The central post of this type was built to symbolize Jesus, while the twelve existing posts holding up the roof symbolized the twelve apostles. Originally, the church had open-air corridors that encircled the whole building.
In 1689, the church was in disrepair, and a major renovation was carried out. The exterior open-air corridors were removed and exterior wood paneling was installed. Also in 1689, a new roof was installed and a central post was probably removed at this time since the roof was rebuilt. In 1840, the church interior was renovated. Wood panelling was installed and new (rather large) windows were installed.
During the 1948-53 restorations, five preserved skeletons of a man, two children, and two women were retrieved from under a thin layer of soil beneath the chancel floor. The bodies were dated to the time of the Black Death in the mid-1300s.