Eksta Church

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Eksta Church
Eksta Church

The Church of Eksta ( Swedish Eksta kyrka ) is a Gothic - Romanesque country church on the Swedish island of Gotland . It belongs to the parish (Swedish församling ) Eksta in the diocese of Visby . The islands of Stora Karlsö and Lilla Karlsö belong to the parish of Eksta (Swedish socken ) .

location

The church is located in the interior of the island, east of the road 140 from Klintehamn to Burgsvik , 40 km south of Visby, 11 km south of Klintehamn, 29 km north of Burgsvik and 11 km northwest of Hemse .

etymology

In the 14th century the name " Eüxsta " was written. He was taken over by what is believed to be a farm called " Este ". This name probably comes from “ Aist ”, which means “the hasty runner” and indicates a brook near the farm “ Este ”. The name has nothing to do with “ ek ” (Swedish for “oak”) nor with the ending “ -sta ”.

Church building

The church is made of limestone and consists of a nave with a recently completed choir , a church tower in the west and a sacristy in the east. The portals are in the west, in the tower and in the middle of the south facade. The western half of today's nave comes from a Romanesque nave from the beginning of the 13th century, which probably included a narrow apse . The rounded base stones are still preserved. The current church tower was built in the 13th century. Around 1300, a new building of the church that was never completed was initiated. The old choir was replaced by a higher choir of the same width as the nave. The triumphal arch wall and the vault of the choir were demolished in 1838–1840, so that the choir and the nave were combined into a single space. The wall crowns of the choir were lowered so that the nave and choir could be placed under a common external roof. The Gothic choir portal was moved to the west and new, large, symmetrically placed windows were inserted. The sacristy was built on the east, while an older one on the north side of the choir was demolished.

Eksta Church is one of the few Gotland churches that was significantly changed after the Middle Ages. From the outside it has a neoclassical touch with a distinct medieval touch. The tower still has the high peak typical of many Gotland churches, which rests on four brick tower gables. The gables point in all directions and have pillared sound openings in two levels. Four medieval portals are still preserved. Those arranged in the north and south facades of the nave, the outer surrounds of which were exposed in 1947, are Romanesque, like the portal in the church tower. The north portal was probably moved from the older choir to the nave when a new choir was built in the 14th century. The portal in the middle of the south facade is Gothic and has a rich surround. The interior of the church is vaulted with a single barrel vault made of wood. It has simple, smooth walls on which individual 15th century frescoes have been discovered. The magnificent pulpit and the altar were bought in 1838, but were made in 1675. At the same time, the pane of glass from the second half of the 13th century that is now in the round window in the east was bought.

The grave slab G 74 is located at the church .

Furnishing

Nothing has been preserved from the medieval furnishings and fittings of the church.

  • During the renovation, the altar and pulpit were taken from the church of Össeby in Uppland. Both were made in 1675.
  • The baptismal font of sandstone was in 1642 Burgsvik carved.
  • The bank furnishings date from the beginning of the 20th century.
  • The organ was built in 1889 by Åkerman & Lund Orgelbyggeri from Stockholm .

literature

  • Våra kyrkor. Klarkullens förlag, Västervik 1990, ISBN 91-971561-0-8 , p. 688 (Swedish).
  • Erland Lagerlöf, Gunnar Svahnström: The churches of Gotland. Stein, Kiel 1991, ISBN 3-89392-049-8 , p. 117.

Web links

Commons : Church of Eksta  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Svenskt local dictionary . Språk- och folkminnesinstitutet, Uppsala 2003, p. 67, ISBN 91-7229-020-X (Swedish, Swedish Lexicon of Place Names)

Coordinates: 57 ° 17 ′ 11.6 "  N , 18 ° 12 ′ 23.1"  E