Södra Råda old church
Södra Råda gamla kyrka (Old Church of Södra Råda) was a church in the Swedish province of Västra Götalands län and the historic provinces of Västergötland and Värmland .
The church, built in 1310, was one of the oldest preserved medieval wooden churches in Sweden. In 1323 the choir was decorated with paintings in the high Gothic style. In 1494, the nave was decorated with wall paintings by Master Amund . Due to the medieval paintings that covered the entire interior of the church, the church was considered a unique cultural monument of Sweden and it was planned to be proposed as a World Heritage Site . The church was built from horizontal planks worked with a hatchet. The outer walls were covered with tarred wood chips.
The church was arson in November 2001. In the following year, the Swedish Central Authority for the Preservation of Monuments started an interdisciplinary research project that aims to examine the church and its surroundings in the social context of the Middle Ages through archaeological excavations, historical and cultural-geographic analyzes as well as art-historical and structural studies. The church is also to be reconstructed as part of the project. However, the paintings are well documented.
The Södra Råda gamla kyrkplats foundation was set up by the municipality of Gullspång , the Västra Götaland region and the Swedish Heritage Agency . She is the owner of the site and should provide sufficient funds to continue the project.
Web links
- Official website (only Swedish)
- Södra Råda Project (Swedish, German and English)
- History of the Church (Swedish)
Coordinates: 59 ° 0 ′ 14 ″ N , 14 ° 12 ′ 15 ″ E