Hablingbo Church
The Church of Hablingbo ( Swedish Hablingbo kyrka ) is one of the largest churches on the Swedish island of Gotland . Beyond its architecture, it is a treasure trove of island history in the southern third of the island, the so-called "Sudret". A picture stone with runic inscription and two labyrinths are among her jewels.
The Romanesque church tower is the only remaining part of a system at the transition from the 12th to the 13th century. The Gothic nave and choir date from the mid-14th century, while the sacristy was built in the 18th century.
The portals
The portal on the north side of the nave is from the Romanesque church. As the main portal, it was originally on the south side. The portal, created by the anonymous master Majestatis in the second half of the 12th century, is one of the finest examples that have survived in Sweden from the Romanesque period. In the tympanum there is an iconographically appealing relief with themes from the story of Cain and Abel.
The Gothic portals on the south side are also richly decorated with reliefs . The portal of the choir is smaller than that of the ship and shows the Kapitellband addition to representations from the early days of Jesus' life a sheep and a pig who is nursing five piglets. The capital straps presumably come from the workshop of the anonymous master builder Egypticus .
The now heavily battered portal on the nave is one of the highlights of the work of this workshop. Among other things, it shows male figures with banners. On the outer posts, grotesque masks give the portal a peculiar character through their dominant placement. The posts are also decorated with the sculptures of the four church fathers Augustine , Ambrosius , Gregorius and Hieronymus . Only the coronation of Mary can be seen on the badly damaged tympanum .
The Romanesque bell tower
Romanesque north portal
South portal
Left mask on the south portal
Right mask on the south portal
The interior
Inside, the vaults and columns with heavy capitals primarily convey the impression of monumentality. The stylized face masks on the eastern capital inspired the Swedish art historian Johnny Roosval (1879–1965) to give the anonymous master of the 14th century the name “Egypticus”. Roosval was a specialist in the architecture and art of the Middle Ages , especially the churches of Gotland.
The establishment
In the choir there are fragments of medieval frescoes , which were probably made in the middle of the 15th century. Next to the triumphal arch , Saint Michael slaying the dragon and on the north wall are Peter and Paul, John the Baptist and saints, including Saint Bernard of Siena, canonized in 1455 . Little of the medieval furnishings has been preserved on site. The once large collection of wooden sculptures, including a triumphal cross and figures of saints, is now kept in museums because it has been fairly damaged.
Altar and pulpit
The sandstone altarpiece, designed by Peter van Eghen and his more famous son Gert, dates from 1643. It shows scenes of the Last Supper. The pulpit, which has been painted over, is said to be the work of the Visby carpenter Jochim Sterling or his workshop from the 17th century.
The mazes
On the inner wall of the tower chamber there is a drawing of a classic labyrinth about one meter in diameter. It has the unusually high number of 19 gears and is partially painted over. On the south wall there is an unfinished labyrinth: only the basic pattern and the first three loops have been pulled out; completed it would be a labyrinth with twelve corridors. The example is given as evidence for the construction of drawn labyrinths. Labyrinths are also found in some other Gotland churches; Troy castles , as this form of labyrinth is called here, are widespread in Scandinavia. The walls in the tower are covered in historical graffiti . Several ships can be seen to the left of the labyrinth.
The runic stone
In 1988 a stone with a runic inscription was found in the church cemetery . The stone was in its original place as its supporting stones were also there. It was 30 to 40 cm below the surface, face up. The rune stone is only slightly damaged, the carving is completely preserved. The incised surface has been hewn smooth and chiseled off, so that the decoration protrudes in half-relief. The surface is so well preserved that the skin technology can be studied. The decor consists of a ring cross, leaf ornaments and a ribbon belt . The runic writing is on the serpent's raised body and begins on its head. It translates as:
Vatar (?) And Hallgair built the stone after Helge, their father. He had gone west with Vikings.
A Viking journey to the west is mentioned here in one of the oldest Gotland runic inscriptions. One should think of England; but Denmark and Norway are also possible. The final sentence of the runic inscription is an important element, as the term "Viking" is rarely used. He affirms that the Vikings called themselves that. The Hablingbo rune stone is 1.9 m high and 1.2 m wide at the base. After the restoration it was placed in the tower chamber of the church.
literature
- Marita Jonsson, Sven-Olof Lindquist: Gotland cultural guide. Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala 1993, ISBN 91-88036-09-X , p. 176.
- Erland Lagerlöf, Gunnar Svahnström: The churches of Gotland. Stein, Kiel 1991, ISBN 3-89392-049-8 .
- Erik Nylén , Jan Peder Lamm: Picture stones on Gotland. 2nd, expanded and completed German edition. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1991, ISBN 3-529-01823-6 .
- Sigmund Oehrl: Gotland's picture stones. Problems and new ways of their documentation, reading and interpretation (= Studia archaeologiae medii aevi. 3). Likias Verlag, Friedberg 2019, ISBN 978-3-9820130-1-5 .
Web links
- guteinfo (Swedish)
- PaGotland ( Memento from August 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (Swedish)
- Building register at Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish, free material, from which the Swedish article was partially taken over)
- Orgelanders (Swedish)
- Web Gallery Gotland (Swedish)
Coordinates: 57 ° 11 ′ 14.2 " N , 18 ° 15 ′ 45.8" E