Snarums Kirke

Norge · Church

Snarums Kirke, beliggende i den idylliske Modum kommune i Norge, har en historie der strækker sig tilbage til middelalderen. Men ud over sin smukke arkitektur og lange traditioner er kirken også blevet kendt for noget andet.

Snarum church — footsteps in an empty building

Snarum church, in the idyllic municipality of Modum in Norway, has a history reaching back to the Middle Ages. But beyond its handsome architecture and long traditions, the church has become known for something else: accounts of the supernatural. It is a place where history and mystery go hand in hand, and where several testimonies suggest it is among Norway's most haunted churches.

Strange sounds and unseen steps

Despite the calm exterior, many describe unexplained events inside its walls. One of the most frequently cited is the assistant chaplain Steinar Sund. He has never seen anything supernatural in the church, but he has heard it many times.

"When I was standing in the sacristy, the door to the organ loft suddenly opened. I heard distinct steps in the aisle, but when I went to look, there was no one there," the chaplain described in an interview.

His experiences are not unique. Two of his sons have also heard footsteps in the church and experienced strange events. On one occasion they saw that the hatch to the church tower stood open. When they went to close it they heard the sound of a door opening and people moving through the church — but the place was completely empty.

A church that never sleeps

Snarum church has stood on its present site since 1869, but there has been a church here since the Middle Ages. The original stave church was replaced in 1702 by a timber church, and today's brick church was designed by the Norwegian architect Georg Andreas Bull. With its white-painted walls and gothic-influenced detail, the church has a restful atmosphere — at first glance.

Some hold that the place is never truly silent, even when empty. The reported footsteps and the sounds of doors opening and closing have created a sense that something from the past is still present.

A quiet chapel with a restless history

The interior of Snarum church is marked by elegant simplicity. There is a beautifully painted altarpiece depicting "Jesus in Gethsemane", created by Eilif Petersen in 1898, and a catechism tablet from the 1590s with biblical texts in Danish and Latin.

But what makes the place feel so eerie? Some believe it has to do with the church's history. The churchyard holds graves from several centuries, including the Russerbautaen — the burial place of two Russian soldiers who died in Norway during the Second World War. Many churches with long histories are said to carry the energies of all the people who once lived and died nearby, and Snarum is no exception.

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