Gol is the main crossroads in Hallingdal. The name probably comes from an old word meaning "border river," referring to where the Hemsil river joins Hallingdalselva. This has been an important junction since the Bergen Railway arrived in 1909, and today the roads to Hemsedal and the western fjords branch off from here.
But Gol is perhaps best known for its stave church - or rather for not having one anymore. The original church was built around 1200 and stood on a hillside above the valley. When a new parish church was built in the 1880s, the old stave church was due for demolition. Fortidsminneforeningen bought it, and King Oscar II paid to have it dismantled and reassembled at Bygdøy near Oslo, where it became the centrepiece of the world's first open-air museum.
Here's the interesting part. Only about a third of the materials were considered genuinely medieval. Architect Waldemar Hansteen was tasked with the reconstruction, and where original parts were missing, he used Borgund stave church as his model. The gallery surrounding the building, the roof tower, the dragon heads on the gables - all copied from Borgund. So what stands in Oslo today is partly authentic medieval construction inside, but largely an 1880s recreation of what a stave church "should" look like. The church still technically belongs to the reigning Norwegian monarch.
Gol eventually regretted losing its church once stave churches became tourist attractions. In 1994, a replica was built on Storeøyne island and consecrated by the bishop of Tønsberg. The church itself is well-crafted - because the woodwork is still relatively new, the intricate carvings are easier to appreciate than in darkened medieval originals. However, the surrounding theme park, called Gordarike, has been neglected for years. Reviews are consistently poor, and you can see from outside that the area is overgrown with demolished buildings. In winter, you can simply walk up to the church without paying. If you visit in summer, don't expect much beyond the church itself.
As a regional centre, Gol has the practical amenities you might need - supermarkets, petrol stations, hotels. The Tropicana water park offers rainy-day entertainment for families. From the railway station, there are several daily connections to both Oslo and Bergen.