GETTING MARRIED AT A STAVKIRKE
A lot of planning goes into a wedding, and ours was no different. So many decisions and considerations! When it came time to find a venue for our Labor Day weekend wedding, the Chapel in the Hills in Rapid City was at the top of the list.
ABOUT THE CHAPEL
The Lutheran chapel is a replica of a stavkirke in Laerdal, Norway. Dedicated in July 1969, the design was based on blueprints provided by the Norwegian Department of Antiquities. The ornate woodcarvings are the work of Erik Fridstrom (from Norway) and Helge Christiansen (a Rapid City local) with the rest of the construction by a local company. The architect was William Bentzinger and the project was funded in part from a gift by Arndt E. Dahl. The decision to use the archetype of stavkirke was a response to the large population of Norwegian Lutherans that settled in the Dakotas and surrounding states.
MY HISTORY WITH THE CHAPEL
I had the great fortune of visiting the Chapel in the Hills in the summer of 2009. I was headed into my third year of my masters program at Kansas State University. Our second project was to design a sacred space in Stavanger, Norway. I drew inspiration from the stavkirke I saw that summer to create a structure. My premise was to use the chords from “In the Hall of the Mountain King” a song from Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt (a Norwegian play) and their corresponding Fibonacci Sequence numbers to develop the proportions of the structure and its members.
An Ideal Backdrop to say, “I Do”
I would recommend visiting the Chapel in the Hills when you’re in the area and considering it for your nuptial destination. We will look back fondly on our wedding day and the place that made it extra special. What a cool cultural replica right in our backyard!
Since graduating from Kansas State in 2012, Liz has gained experience from a variety of fields within the building industry. From drafting at a metal building manufacturer to working at architecture firms to assisting a real estate broker/developer, she has always had a passion for influencing the built environment. As a designer at Schemmer, Liz enjoys learning new things and refining her skills with help from other licensed professionals. She is pursuing an architectural license and hopes to continue to shape the spaces and places around her in a positive way.
Congratulations, Liz! What a great spot. The Stavkirke is one of my favorite South Dakota buildings.