Stolen Key Returns to Norway Church

Why this is here: The key, missing for about 50 years, was discovered in a package with a letter stating the sender purchased it at a market in Germany.

Arnborg Teigum, the church warden in Skjåk, Norway, received a package from Germany containing a key to the Skjåk Church. The key, dated 1938, had been missing for roughly 50 years. Locals believe German tourists stole the key sometime in the 1970s, but details remained unclear.

Teigum has begun an informal investigation with help from the community, hoping to confirm the key’s history. Local historian Stein Grjotheim searched church records and the former priest’s diary, finding little information about the missing key. He plans to contact the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage for assistance.

The package included a handwritten letter in German. The sender, a man living in Berlin, stated he bought the key at a German market and is now returning it as he prepares to move.

While Teigum is cautious, she appreciates the gesture and welcomes the key’s return. The mystery of how the key left Norway remains partly unsolved, but research continues.