Sundre Church

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Sundre Church, looking north-west
Sundre Church, looking north
Church and Kastal
Kastal from the 12th century
Church and Kastal

The Church of Sundre ( Swedish Sundre kyrka ) is a Romanesque country church on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea . It is located near the south coast in the southern third of the island known as Sudret . Due to the exposed location, a stone defense tower (kastal) was built in the immediate vicinity of today's church in the 12th century . The ruins of a medieval rectory are also documented southwest of the church.

Building history

The nave and the slightly narrower, straight final choir were built at the beginning of the 13th century without a base, while the tower was added a few decades later around the year 1250. The building material used is mainly sandstone , but the more durable limestone was used for the portals . The sacristy on the north side of the choir was only recently added.

The church has a total of three entrances: one on the north side of the tower and one each on the south side of the nave and the choir. The entrance on the south side of the nave is used as the main entrance. From here, two circular stones made of red limestone can be seen in the outer masonry, which were apparently intended for a column, but were not needed after all. In the cross-vaulted choir there are four niches, one of which still has its medieval design with wooden doors with iron fittings.

During the renovation in 1969–1970, paintings from the 13th century were uncovered in the choir and paintings from the 17th century in the triumphal arch . In addition, the passion frieze from the 15th century was exposed in the nave .

The church of Sundre is one of the churches with those of Eke and Dalhem , of whose wooden predecessor church 24 boards with fragments of paintings assigned to the Russian-Byzantine style have been preserved. They show the Last Judgment according to the Byzantine pattern and have parallels with the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello .

The rune stone G 1

In the church is the rune stone G 1, which Rolaik (Roþlaikr) built for his brother Rofinn (Roþfinn). The name Roþfinn is otherwise unknown, but the name Roþlaikr is also known from the stone G 118 in the church of Anga. Röþ- (older form Hröþ-) as a prefix of his male descendants is contained on many Gotland rune stones: Roþviþr on G 67 and G 103, Roþvisl on G 134 and on the picture of the Sanda Church, on the pilgrim stone, Roþfos on G 134, Roþgair on G 111 from Ardre, Rovvaldr (Roaldi) on G 109, G 119 and others. The feminine form of the name Roþ-thiau on G 111 and G 112 and Ropälf on G 134. The stone has an unusual ornament. Its central surface is a stylized tree, in the upper part of which a lion and a bird face each other. The stones G 2 and G 3 are also in the church.

Surroundings

Like the church, the medieval defense tower is made of hewn sandstone and was built in the 12th century. Similar to some other parishes on the Gotland coast, it served to protect and defend the church and the surrounding parish. The tower measures between 14 and 15 m in diameter and its height varies between 12 and 14 m. In the upper part, the remains of six or seven loopholes have been preserved. On the north-eastern side, facing away from the church, there is an entrance at a height of six meters that probably corresponds to the original one.

An examination of the foundations of the medieval rectory revealed that it had four rooms on the ground floor. The cemetery wall is wide and strong and mostly dates from the Middle Ages.

literature

  • Marita Jonsson, Sven-Olof Lindquist: Gotland cultural guide. Almqvist & Wiksell, Uppsala 1993, ISBN 91-88036-09-X , p. 204.
  • Marita Jonsson, Sven-Olof Lindquist: Vägen till cultures på Gotland. 7th revised edition. Gotlands fornsal, Visby 2002, ISBN 91-88036-50-2 (Swedish).
  • Erland Lagerlöf, Gunnar Svahnström: The churches of Gotland. Stein, Kiel 1991, ISBN 3-89392-049-8 .
  • Erland Lagerlöf, Gunnar Svahnström: Gotlands kyrkor. En vägledning. 3rd revised edition. Rabén & Sjögren, Stockholm 1984, ISBN 91-29-56838-2 (Swedish).

Web links

Commons : Church of Sundre  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lennart Karlsson: Signums svenska konsthistoria, Volume 3: Den romanska konsten . Bokförlaget Signum, Lund 1995, ISBN 91-87896-23-0 , p. 318ff.
  2. ^ RAÄ number Sundre 43: 1
  3. ^ RAÄ number Sundre 114: 1

Coordinates: 56 ° 56 '9.3 "  N , 18 ° 10' 54.3"  E