Nousiainen Church
The Church of Nousiainen ( Finnish. Nousiaisten kirkko ) or Heinrichskirche von Nousiainen (Finnish. Nousiaisten Pyhän Henrikin kirkko ) is a medieval stone church in the parish of Nousiainen in southwestern Finland . It is the burial place of Saint Henry of Uppsala , who was the first bishop of Finland to work in Nousiainen in the middle of the 12th century. The present Nousiainen Church was probably built in the 1420s. This makes it one of the oldest preserved stone churches on the Finnish mainland. In terms of architecture, it stands out due to its unusual floor plan. The church of Nousiainen serves as the parish church of the Evangelical Lutheran parish of Nousiainen.
history
Nousiainen, which is now insignificant, was the center of Christianization in Finland in the Middle Ages and the country's first bishopric. After the crusade of the Swedish King Erik IX. After Finland, which probably took place in 1155, 1157 or 1158, Heinrich von Uppsala, later venerated as a saint, was the first bishop of Finland in Nousiainen. After his violent death the following winter, he was buried in Nousiainen. In 1229 the bishopric was moved to Koroinen near Turku and the church of Nousiainen was degraded to a simple parish church. As the burial place of Saint Henry, who was apparently venerated soon after his death, the church is likely to have retained an above-average importance. The first written mention of the church comes from the year 1232.
According to tradition, a wooden church should already have existed during Heinrich's lifetime . The oldest finds that were found during archaeological excavations at the site of today's stone church date from the early 14th century, so it is not certain whether Heinrich's church was in the same place. However, it can be assumed that the stone church had several successive wooden predecessors, since almost three centuries passed between the foundation of the parish and the construction of the stone church and the wooden churches usually only had a short lifespan.
The 15th century saw a period of great church building activity on the Finnish mainland. At the same time, the wooden church of Nousiainen was replaced by the stone structure that has been preserved to this day. The church probably dates from the 1420s or at the latest the 1430s. This makes it the second oldest church on the Finnish mainland after the Turku Cathedral, which was built much earlier (a number of even older churches can be found on the Åland archipelago , which historically has a special position). The church of Nousiainen has largely been preserved in its original structure. The only intervention in the historical structure of the building is the addition of the grave chapel of Saint Heinrich in 1901 according to plans by Josef Stenbäck .
Building description
The church of Nousiainen stands on the banks of the Hirvijoki river around three kilometers northeast of the center of Nousiainen in the middle of a typical south-west Finnish cultural landscape. It is surrounded by a small walled cemetery. On the other side of the river is the rectory from 1890.
As is typical of Finland's medieval church architecture, Nousiainen's church is built of field stone . However, it stands out among the otherwise rather monotonous medieval stone churches in Finland because of its floor plan: the three-sided end on the west side of the nave and the five-sided choir (9.5 × 8.3 meters) that adjoins its east side are unusual . On the south side of the choir, the grave chapel of St. Henry is built, which also imitates the choir in its five-sided shape. The easted nave measures 26.5 × 15.2 meters. As usual, there is a sacristy on its north side and an armory on the south side . The steep roof of the church is covered with shingles . There is no church tower . The free-standing stack of bells dates from 1750.
The nave of the church of Nousiainen is divided into three naves divided and brick decorated. The central nave is twice as wide as the side aisles. The interior is closed off by a cross vault . The vaults are decorated with simple wall paintings that probably date from the time the church was built. They were whitewashed at the end of the 18th century and only fully exposed again in 1936. Door and window openings have been preserved in their original form. The main entrance to the church is in the armory on the south side.
interior
The most important piece of equipment in the Nousiainen church is the sarcophagus of Saint Henry. It is located in the central aisle of the church. In 1901 it was transferred to the newly built burial chapel, but in 1968 it was moved back to its original location. The sarcophagus is made of black limestone , probably imported from Belgium , and is covered with brass plates . A depiction of the saint as well as scenes from his life, his martyrdom and miracles that he is said to have performed after his death are engraved on the brass plates. The sarcophagus was placed in Nousiainen church after 1429. The remains of the dead are no longer there. You are likely in several phases as relics in the Cathedral of Turku have been transferred.
Other than that, 14 wood carvings of the medieval furnishings of the church have been preserved. In the church there is a sculpture of Saint Henry from the early 15th century, as well as a triumphal cross and a sculpture of Saint Sebastian , both from around 1500. The remaining sculptures are now kept in the Finnish National Museum. The pulpit of the church dates from 1640, the rest of the interior is modern.
literature
- Markus Hiekkanen: Suomen keskiajan kivikirkot (= Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran toimituksia 1117). Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki 2007, ISBN 978-951-746-861-9 , pp. 120-125.
Web links
- Nousiainen Church in the Finnish Museum Authority's Register of Nationally Important Cultural Landscapes
- Nousiainen Church in the Finnish Museum Authority's register of monuments
- Website of the parish of Nousiainen
See also
Coordinates: 60 ° 36 ′ 56.9 ″ N , 22 ° 7 ′ 36.5 ″ E