Hedalen Stave Church was built in the second half of the twelfth century, possibly around 1160, since dendrochronology shows the timbers were cut then. The earliest historical records date from 1327. It began as a wooden long church with a single nave and was remodeled into a cruciform plan in 1699, though some sources give 1738. Svend Tråseth built the tower in 1738.
The west portal has three winged dragons and is described as one of the oldest and most richly ornamented in Norway. Inside are a wooden reliquary showing the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, a Gothic soapstone font and a Virgin and Child statue from the early thirteenth century.
After the Black Death the church lay abandoned and overgrown for more than 150 years. Carl Berner directed a restoration in 1902. It is an active parish church seating about 210.
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