During the Medieval period, over 1000 stave churches were thought to have been constructed in Norway. However, currently, only 28 of these churches remain and only 19 still have distemper wall paintings. The cultural significance of these structures, and more specifically their elaborate distemper wall paintings, has changed over time, as have the means and methods for preserving these monuments. Deeper knowledge of the current state of these structures, along with environmental monitoring and modeling will open the way to a better understanding of preservation. This paper presents a case study for unheated Norwegian wooden churches based on data collected from Kvernes stave church. There are three aims for this paper: (i) to describe the typical indoor conditions similar to the historic climate of stave churches; (ii) determine the common characteristics of distemper paint found within stave churches; (iii) and develop a risk assessment tool to evaluate the climate-induced risk factors in stave churches. The outcome of this work will contribute to research performed within the Sustainable Management of Heritage Buildings in a Long-term Perspective (SyMBoL) project which aims to develop a better understanding of climate induced risks for stave churches, and ultimately to better manage environmental risk.

This article is based on the project undertaken by NIKU for, and financed by, the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2021, with supplementary literature and the expertise of the authors added to the report findings. The main aim of the project was to find out how climate-related adaptation and mitigation measures impact the Nordic cultural heritage. In this article we present examples of the different adaptation and mitigation measures that impact the cultural heritage. This article has a Nordic focus, which is transferable to other countries. The methodology involves an analysis of qualitative data collected in 2021 through text review, interviews, and workshops. The results can be divided into three relevant themes where there are major challenges: interdisciplinary work, need for more knowledge and use of culture-nature based solutions, and new energy supply systems. We conclude with recommendations on what we believe should be prioritized in the continued work of reducing the risk of damage to cultural heritage in the future. The recommendations cover local and international conditions, they cross sectors and political guidelines, and they reflect the need for newly developed knowledge, interdisciplinarity, and the need for a change of attitude—a paradigm shift in planning procedures.