Mo Church
translation by Mary Ann Field

Mo church was consecrated in 1839. Earlier there was a stave church from the 1200's. A large restoration was done in 1961.

The altar table is from the stave church. It was restored by Magnus Lunde and Olav Johre and painted by Finn Kraft, Henrik Sørensen and Harald Kihle. The crucifix is from approximately 1400, the baptismal font is from the stave church, and the candle chandelier is from 1766.

In the church yard, there is a memorial stone for Torbjørg Ripilen, who sang Draumkvedet for Moltke Moe.

Draumkvedet
"The Dream Ballad"

Draumkvedet is a collection of folk music stanzas that date back centuries, but which were first written down by Pastor M. B. Landstad in the 1840's. The resulting ballad was first sung by Maren Ramskeid of Telemark. Professor Moltke Moe, of the University of Oslo, reconstructed the ballad in the 1890's to bring it to the version known today.

The ballad tells a story about Olav Åsteson, who falls asleep on Christmas Eve and awakens on the thirteenth day (Epiphany). He rides to church where he tells of what he dreamed, a journey to Gjallatbrua (purgatory) where he witnessed a battle between Christ and the Devil.