Church of Bäl

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Church of Bäl

The Church of Bäl ( Swedish Bäl kyrka ) is a country church on the Swedish island of Gotland . It belongs to the parish (swed. Församling ) Väskinde in the diocese of Visby .

Church of Bäl
inner space
Older photo of the church
Wall painting

location

The church is located south of the road 147 from Visby to Slite , 20 km east of Visby, 19 km northeast of Roma and 12.5 km southwest of Slite in the interior of Gotland. Together with a few farms, it is located in the parish (Swedish socken ) Bäl, which consists mainly of coniferous forest.

Church building

The church building made of plastered limestone consists of a recently completed choir with an attached sacristy on the north side, a slightly larger nave and the church tower in the west, the upper part of which is narrower than the nave, while the lower part in the south and north encloses the nave walls. The tower walls do not extend above the roof ridge of the nave and the wooden spire therefore has sound openings within which the bell level is located. The main portal is on the south side of the nave. Other portals are on the south side of the choir and the north side of the nave. The portals and window openings of the church all date from the time the church was built. The Gothic south portal of the nave has a rich ornamentation and is adorned with a gable crown. Inside, the choir and tower chamber are covered by brick vaults, while the nave has two vaults.

history

The current choir was built in the first half of the 13th century as part of an older stone church, the wall sections of which went into the walls of the triumphal arch. During the second half of the 13th century the current nave and tower were built, which were probably cut in order to later raise it and add side galleries to the south and north. The paintings come from the 13th and 15th centuries. The present sacristy was built in 1945.

Furnishing

  • The Great Triumphal Cross dates from the second part of the 13th century.
  • In the tower vault there is a font from the 13th century.
  • The altar was painted by Johan Bartsch in 1664.
  • The pulpit was made in 1722 and painted in 1744.
  • The organ with six registers and pedals was built in 1968 by Grönvalls orgelbyggeri from Lilla Edet . The organ case and the facade are made of knot-free, untreated oak.

Surroundings

  • The churchyard has portals in its wall to the south and east.
  • The building in the northeast was built as a parish warehouse.

literature

  • Erland Lagerlöf, Gunnar Svahnström: The churches of Gotland. Stein, Kiel 1991, ISBN 3-89392-049-8 , p. 95.
  • Våra kyrkor. Klarkullens förlag, Västervik 1990, ISBN 91-971561-0-8 , p. 674, (Swedish)

Web links

Commons : Church of Bäl  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 57 ° 38 ′ 41.2 "  N , 18 ° 37 ′ 58.5"  E