Vallstena Church
The Church of Vallstena ( Swedish Vallstena kyrka ) is a country church on the Swedish island of Gotland, consecrated in the 13th century . It belongs to the parish (Swedish församling ) Gothem (previously Vallstena) in the diocese of Visby .
location
The church is located in the interior of Gotland, 21 km east of Visby, 15 km southwest of Slite , 14 km south of Tingstäde and 16 km north of Roma .
Church building
The medieval stone church, the western part of which is the oldest, consists of a two-aisled nave with a wider eastern section, a straight choir in the east with a sacristy attached to the north and the church tower in the west. The tower and nave are from a small apse church from the beginning of the 13th century. The foundations of the old apse were found under the church floor during restoration in 1957. Towards the end of the 13th century there were plans to renovate the church, which was followed by the construction of the choir with the sacristy. The plans for a new two-aisled nave were only partially realized in the east with a yoke , so that the church now corresponds to the type of a saddle church . The different building epochs are clearly visible from the outside. The tower and the nave with round-arched wall openings and the high eastern part with the Gothic pointed arches. The tower is crowned by a spike. The Romanesque nave is vaulted inside by four cross vaults, which are supported by a central column. The eastern parts of the church have a high vaulted tent. The triumphal arch gives a striking picture inside. The triumphal arch and the tower arch were inaugurated in the middle of the 13th century. At that time it received its stepped arches with round bars in between and an unusually well-preserved decorative painting. The east wall of the choir is broken through by a group of three pointed arched windows.
The church was restored in 1957 according to plans by the architect Bengt Romare .
Furnishing
- The font is from the middle of the 13th century and has a shell cupa. He stands by the western pillar.
- An offering box richly decorated with sculptures is the work of the school of the Öjameister from around 1300. On it are carved images of the risen Christ and the three women on the way to the tomb.
- The altar with a processional cross is dated to the 14th century.
- The pulpit is from 1669.
- The altarpiece is from 1730.
- The organ was built in 1973 by Anders Perssons Orgelbyggeri from Viken and in 1995 it was taken over and bought by the church of Tingstäde .
Surroundings
- A few 100 meters east of the church are Alvena Lindaräng's house foundations from the early Iron Age .
- The church is surrounded by a churchyard wall with three entrance portals, the southern one of which has detailed sculptures and is ascribed to the 13th century.
- To the north of the church is the old parish magazine ( sockenmagasinet ), which now serves as a morgue .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Parish division on Gotland 2010 (Swedish) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
literature
- Våra kyrkor. Klarkullens förlag, Västervik 1990, ISBN 91-971561-0-8 , p. 679 (Swedish).
Web links
- Guteinfo: Vallstena kyrka (Swedish, with pictures)
- PaGotland ( Memento from August 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (Swedish)
- Orgelanders (Swedish, with pictures)
- Gothems församling (Swedish, parish website)
- Building register at Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish, free material, from which the original Swedish article was partially extracted. This article was created as a translation)
Coordinates: 57 ° 36 '35.4 " N , 18 ° 38' 12.7" E