Hvalsey Church

According to the sagas, the land around Hvalsey was claimed by Thorkell Farserk, a relative of Erik the Red. Christianity arrived in Greenland around the year 1000 and churches began to be built in the country. but archaeological finds hint that this was not the first church in this site. The site is now part of a sheep farm. ==Buildings==

Hvalsey is located on a narrow strip of land at the head of a fjord, with the church situated around from the water. The church is located in a classic Greenlandic Norse farmstead, with several additional adjacent buildings. The farmstead included a large building approximately in size. It had eleven rooms, combining living quarters, an banqueting hall and livestock pens. There were other livestock pens away from the main building, a horse enclosure for visitors to keep their horses, a storage building further up the hill and a warehouse at the edge of the water. The dwelling was built on the top of an earlier building that dates back to the time of Erik the Red, and may have been Thorkell Farserk's home. ==Architecture==

Around , the church was constructed in the Anglo-Norwegian style of the early 13th century. and was surrounded by a dyke marking the limits of the cemetery. The window openings are wider on the inside, a detail not found in Icelandic churches, but well known in early churches in Britain which may have been the source of this building type. Thanks to the good construction quality, Hvalsey Church has resisted the elements better than other Norse structures in Greenland. Nevertheless, it has partly collapsed, mainly because it was built over a graveyard. Graves were not removed before the construction and this caused the sinking of the foundation. ==Gallery==

Image:Hvalsey arch window.jpg|The church's arch window Image:Hvalsey Church southern aspect.jpg|Southern aspect of the church Image:Hvalsey farmstead.jpg|The Farmstead buildings Image:Hvalsey banquet hall.jpg|The banquet hall Image:Hvalsey stables.jpg|Nearby stables Image:Hvalsey horse pen.jpg|The horse pen ==See also==