Website Chapel in the Hills Completed 1969 Phone +1 605-342-8281 Year consecrated 1969 | Groundbreaking 1968 Opened 1969 Added to NRHP 7 August 2012 | |
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General contractor Dilly Construction Company Similar WaTiki Indoor Waterpar, Storybook Island, Reptile Gardens, Bear Country USA, Dinosaur Park | ||
Chapel in the hills rapid city south dakota
Chapel in the Hills is a stave church located near Rapid City, South Dakota.
Contents
The Chapel in the Hills was dedicated on July 6, 1969, as the home for the radio ministry of Lutheran Vespers. The church is a special ministry of the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Chapel in the hills
History
The Chapel in the Hills is an exact replica of the Borgund stave church in Norway. The Borgund stavkirke was built around the year 1150 and is considered the most completely preserved stave church still standing in Norway.
The Norwegian Department of Antiquities provided a set of blueprints of the Borgund church to be used in the construction of the Chapel in the Hills. The woodcarvings resulted from the combined effort by Norwegian woodcarver Erik Fridstrøm and Rapid City resident, Helge Christiansen.
The site includes an authentic log cabin museum that was built in 1876 by Edward Nielsen, a Norwegian immigrant gold prospector from Hole, Ringerike, Norway. There is also a stabbur, a grass-roofed house, that serves as the visitor center and gift shop.