Dimbo-Ottravad Church

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The church in 2010

The Church of Dimbo-Ottravad ( Swedish Dimbo-Ottravads kyrka ) is a church of the parish Varv the Diocese of Skara and is located in the municipality of Tidaholm province County Västra Götaland .

Location of the church

Iron Age burial ground above the church

The church is located below one of the largest grave fields in West Sweden from the post-Roman Iron Age . There are still about 300 graves here today. T. from the 6th century. However, these were mainly created during the Viking Age , which indicates an early settlement in Dimbo. Around Dimbo 1208 and 1210 two of the most historically important battles between the found Erik Sex and the House of Sverker instead. Large stone monuments today commemorate the Battle of Lena and the Battle of Gestilren .

history

The former church square of the round church

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the parishes of Dimbo and Ottravad each had their own medieval Romanesque church. Since these had become too small for the increased number of parishioners, they were demolished in 1814 and 1812 respectively. In their place a common church was built in Dimbo, which was completed in 1817.

The former church of Dimbo came from around the second half of the 12th century and was a Romanesque round church (schw. Rundkyrka ). It was about 120 m southwest of today's church. Their construction was commissioned and paid for by the Bishop of Skara Bengt I. den gode from the Bonde family, to which King Erik IX. (the saint) belonged. This round church consisted of a round central building and had a rectangular choir in the east . It resembled the church of Skörstorp , which was also built by Bengt I. A gilded Latin inscription in a carved stone above the church entrance reminded of the founder of the church: "In memoriam Episcopi olim Skarens, beati Benedicti Probi, fundatoris huius Templi Dimboensis".

Today only a small wooden tower and the remains of a column foot, which presumably belonged to its church tower earlier, are reminiscent of the former church of Ottravad. It is believed that the church stood on a tumulus. The most spectacular find is a baptismal font from the middle of the 12th century, which is now in the Stockholm History Museum, as it was believed when the new church was built that it would not match it. It is a cylindrical baptismal font, which is provided with numerous reliefs in eight image fields.

Today's church

The church of Dimbo-Ottravad in its current appearance was completed in 1817. Parts of the two previous churches that had been demolished were used for their construction. It has a cross-shaped central building that merges into a church tower in the north transept . The reason for its cross-shaped floor plan is believed to be the limited space available on the top of the hill. Their appearance is very reminiscent of Church buildings in Småland, which are often mocked in Sweden as " Tegnér barns " (Sw. "Tegnérlador" ) after the bishop of Växjö Esaias Tegnér , who advocated the construction of spacious churches and often had medieval churches torn down to react to the strong increase in the number of parishioners at the beginning of the 19th century. Today these "Tegnér churches" often seem uninspired and unmotivated. Its whitewashed natural stone masonry with large windows forms a spacious and bright nave. At the beginning of the 1970s, a "small church" was built in its inner southern part as a "church in the church".

The triad bells on its bell tower come from their medieval predecessor churches. The big bell was cast in 1738 and weighs 375 kg. The middle bell dates from the first half of the 13th century, weighs 115 kg and is one of the oldest church bells still in use in Sweden today. It has a hand-forged clapper and is still in excellent condition. In contrast to its sisters, this bell is struck manually. The smallest of the three bells was cast around 1500 and weighs 113 kg.

Notes / individual evidence

  1. ↑ Note: The former parishes of Dimbo and Ottravad were merged into one parish in 1992 and have been part of the parish of Varv since January 1, 2010
  2. ↑ Hans Harlén; Eivy Harlén: Sverige från A till Ö: geografisk-historisk uppslagsbok . Commentary, Stockholm 2003 (Swedish). ISBN 91-7345-139-8
  3. ↑ Johannes Hoops: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde , Volume XXXII, 2nd edition, Walter de Gruyter & Co, Berlin 2006 p. 13 ISBN 978-3110183870
  4. ↑ Note: "200 alnar" - 200 (black) cubits. 1 aln = 0.593m
  5. ↑ Note: 12th Bishop of Skara between approx. 1150 and 1290
  6. ^ A b Peter Eriksson Lindskog: Försök till en korrt deskrifning om Skara pen . 5 single issues, 1812–1816
  7. ↑ Note: an extensive picture collection and scientific documentation can be found on the website of the "Historiska Museet" linked below
  8. ↑ see description on the information page of the Church of Dimbo-Ottravad

Web links

Commons : Church of Dimbo-Ottravad  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 58 ° 10 ′ 9.2 ″  N , 13 ° 49 ′ 8.1 ″  E