The monolith "Virgin Mary’s Sewing Needle" is leaning against the northern wall of St Olaf’s church. Measuring 7.2 metres it is one of Norway’s tallest standing stones, but it has been even higher.
Old legends tell us that doomsday will come when the stone touches the church wall, so in times gone by priests at Avaldsnes have climbed up the stone and chipped pieces from the top, thus saving the world from destruction.
The name of the stone comes from a runic inscription which today is almost invisible. In 1600 the inscription was interpreted as “Mikjall Maria næstr” which means Michael the next after Mary.
The doomsday legend can be traced back to early Christian times, when Michael was known as the angel who would sound a horn to signal the end of the world. In early Christian times it was customary to consecrate pagan sacred places to the archangel Michael. This may also have happened at Avaldsnes
Originally "Virgin Mary’s Sewing Needle" was one of five huge standing stones that were erected at Avaldsnes, probably in the 3rd Century AD. These stones constituted a sacred place of heathen cult. Today, "Virgin Mary’s Sewing Needle" is the only one that stands on its original place.
The first church at Avaldsnes was probably built by King Olav Tryggvason sometimes between 995 – 1000. According to tradition he built his small wooden church in the midst of the sacred place of heathen cult.
