Källunge Church
The Church of Källunge ( Swedish Källunge kyrka ) is a Romanesque country church on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland . She belongs to the parish (Swedish församling ) Gothem in the diocese of Visby .
The church is one of the oldest stone churches on Gotland. It has the bizarre silhouette of a so-called saddle church . In the west there is a small Romanesque nave from the 12th century, with a matching tower from the same period. In the east there is a mighty Gothic choir dating from the first half of the 14th century. The intention was to gradually tear down the rest of the church and to complete the new building with a large west tower. However, the plan was not implemented after the completion of the choir. The church is characterized by an unusual size for country churches . The interior is formed by a three-aisled hall with two round and two octagonal pillars. The grandiose south portal shows depictions of Christ with two female saints in the tympanum and Maria with the baby Jesus in the eyelashes .
On the portal there is also one of the probably oldest images of a nyckelharpa , dating to around 1350. The instrument shown resembles an early form of the nyckelharpa, which is known today as the "Mora-Harpa".
tower
The tower with the simple, narrow portal was later redesigned. The arch to the nave was widened to form a pointed arch, a new bell storey was added, and the helmet was given a steeper shape.
Longhouse
The nave serves as the vestibule of the choir, which today forms the actual church space. Its south portal dates from the 14th century and has considerable capital reliefs created by Neoikonicus , which depict aspects of medieval life. The east wall of the nave with the triumphal arch is largely original. In the northeast corner there is a pre-Reformation St. Mary's altar. In 1951, when the church was restored according to plans by the architect Erik Faul, the base of a demolished apse choir , contemporary with the nave, was discovered.
Frescoes
The Romanesque church has fragments of Russian-Byzantine lime paintings from the 12th century.
- To the left of the triumphal arch you can see two of the wise men on the way to Bethlehem, above the corridor to Golgotha.
- To the right of the arch is the dragon fight of St. George .
- A medallion of Christ can be seen in the arched opening, surrounded by saints.
- On the side of the choir, the decoration of the arch consists of ornamental painting.
- Fragments of the Last Judgment have been preserved on the west wall .
The Romanesque frescoes are one of the most important examples of early wall paintings on Gotland .
The Gothic part of the church also has remains of wall paintings; these are attributed to the so-called Passion Master , an artist of the 15th century who is not known by name.
inventory
The most famous piece of furniture is the winged altar, a north German work from the beginning of the 16th century. It was acquired by the Visby Cathedral in 1684 and later moved to Källunge.
To the left of the altar on the north wall you can see a monumental sacrament cabinet with a frame supported by columns. Next to the cupboard is a copy of the ship's flag (the original is in Gotland's Fornsal). The baptismal font , whose ornaments have largely disappeared, is a work by the anonymous master Byzantios from the 12th century. In the floor of the choir there are tombstones from the 14th to 17th centuries. The pulpit was created in 1707 by the Visby carpenter Christian Fedder and painted by Johan Hernell in 1726.
Exterior of the church
Three-aisled choir
Detail of a wall painting: carrying the cross
Altarpiece (16th century)
Baptismal font (12th century)
sacristy
The sacristy dates from the same time as the Gothic part of the church. With its vaulted ceiling and narrow windows, it gives an impression of what a secular room looked like in the stone-built rectories and farms on the island in the Middle Ages.
See also
literature
- Marita Jonsson, Sven-Olof Lindquist: Gotland cultural guide. Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala 1993, ISBN 91-88036-09-X , p. 102.
- Erland Lagerlöf, Gunnar Svahnström: The churches of Gotland. Stein, Kiel 1991, ISBN 3-89392-049-8 .
- Marianne Mehling (Ed.): Knaurs Culture Guide in Color Sweden. Droemer Knaur, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-426-26243-6 .
- Julia Trinkert: The coronation reredos in the church in Källunge (Gotland) and its Mecklenburg provenance. A study on art production and workshop organization in the late medieval Baltic Sea region (Kiel Art History Studies NF 13). Kiel 2011.
Web links
- guteinfo (Swedish)
- Orgelanders (Swedish)
- Building register at Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish)
- Parish Gothems församling (Swedish)
Coordinates: 57 ° 36 '28.1 " N , 18 ° 35' 4.6" E