Dalhem Church

West portal of the church from the building works of Egypticus

The Romanesque Church of Dalhem ( Swedish Dalhem kyrka ) is one of the largest country churches on the Swedish island of Gotland . It belongs to the parish (Swedish församling ) Dalhem in the Diocese of Visby .

location

The church is located almost exactly in the middle of the island in Dalhem , 17 km southeast of Visby , 7 km east of Roma and 23 km southwest of Slite .

Church building

The nave , the choir and the sacristy were built in the first half of the 13th century. During a restoration in 1899, the foundation walls of a smaller previous church, whose choir presumably had an apse , were found. The portal , the large window on the west side and the high tower were built in the 14th century. The builder of the tower and creator of the portal was an unknown master, who was named "Egypticus" in art history and who also drew for work on the churches of Gothem , Öja and Stånga . The figures of the capital volume represent u. a. represent a dragon , a centaur and a sphinx and are unusual for the Gotlandic sculpture palette.

The three-aisled nave is divided into nine vaults by four heavy central pillars.

Bell jar

The bell of Dalhem Church was cast in 1599 by the Lübeck bell caster Matthias Benningk .

Glass and wall paintings

The restored walls are decorated with frescoes depicting medieval motifs. Some of them have been preserved in their original condition. The stained glass on the windows in the choir are the oldest preserved on the island. They are among the most important medieval stained glass on Gotland .

Tombs

Next to the church five old grave slabs (three of them trapezoidal ) are placed under a covered pergola . The oldest plate is from the end of the 12th century.