The Kulisteinen is the most famous runestone in Norway. Its inscription, carved around 1034, reads that "Tore and Hallvard raised this stone... twelve winters Christianity had been in Norway." It is the first known written use of the name "Norway." The original stone is now in the NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet in Trondheim, but a replica stands on Kuløy where it was found, and the site is on the UNESCO tentative list.
Three kilometres away on Edøya, the Gamle Edøy Kirke dates from around 1190 and is one of the oldest surviving stone churches on the coast. In 2018, archaeologists using georadar discovered a Viking ship burial near the church, estimated to be over 1,000 years old, confirming that Edøy was an important power centre in the Viking Age.
These sites sit on the eastern edge of the Smøla archipelago. The combination of Norway's "birth certificate," a medieval stone church, and a Viking ship in a single area makes this historically dense ground, easily visited as a detour when exploring Smøla.
Three kilometres away on Edøya, the Gamle Edøy Kirke dates from around 1190 and is one of the oldest surviving stone churches on the coast. In 2018, archaeologists using georadar discovered a Viking ship burial near the church, estimated to be over 1,000 years old, confirming that Edøy was an important power centre in the Viking Age.
These sites sit on the eastern edge of the Smøla archipelago. The combination of Norway's "birth certificate," a medieval stone church, and a Viking ship in a single area makes this historically dense ground, easily visited as a detour when exploring Smøla.