Christianity
Christianity arrived in the 11th century, and a wooden church was built at Kinsarvik, which was an important economic centre in the region of inner Hardanger. In 1160, a stone church was erected in its place.
Christianity also brought English settlers with Apple rootstock. The English also brought the art of grafting to the fruit industry of Hardanger about 1300AD. The area around Kinsarvik is well suited for growing fruit and its practice expanded.
By 1536 the Protestant Reformation was underway. The first church in Norway to convert was in Ullensvang just a few miles from Kinsarvik. At this time the paintings and frescos of the Kinsarvik church were covered. In the 17th century the woodwork of the church was painted. In 1961 the original frescos were uncovered
