St. Maria (Saltvik)
St. Mary is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Saltvik in Finland .
history
The Church of St. Mary in Saltvik was built on a site where archaeological digs have unearthed finds that date back to the Viking Age. Presumably the place was of great importance for trade and seafaring. Almost all the historically known “Landtag” of the Åland Islands municipality in the Middle Ages took place in the open field south of the church.
The dating of the different construction periods varies. The nave, the sacristy , the portal house and the tower were built at different times.
The apse, which is now the sanctuary, was built in the 1850s when the old, painted vault was also replaced with a semi-vaulted ceiling.
During the restoration in the mid-1950s, attempts were made to restore the church to its original appearance. New cross vaults were built and new columns erected on the old foundations. The opening of the chancel was made smaller.
Furnishing
The wall paintings come from different periods. The fragmentary images, which have been restored as much as possible, are mostly difficult to interpret.
The triptych in the chancel was painted in a rural baroque style in the 17th century . The naive but powerful image of the resurrection of Christ was created by Mathias Reiman , a painter from Åbo . It was donated to the church in 1666 by Brita and Harald Footangel . The cheerful and bright colors are a reminder that the service should be a festival of hope and joy.
The leaf-shaped baptismal font, on the left side in front of the chancel, probably dates from the 13th century and was hewn from Gotland limestone. The leaf shape was originally only found in cathedrals . In 1795 the scribe FW Radloff mentioned that the church of St. Maria was called "cathedral" according to old documents. This leads to the assumption that there may have been an independent diocese on the Åland Islands.
The Pietà on the north wall is a wooden sculpture from the late 15th century.
The small altar painting from 1659 on the north wall bears the inscription "Agnus pascalis" (Easter lamb).
The painting on the north wall shows Christ praying in the garden of Gethsemane . It was painted by Robert Wilhelm Ekman in 1862 .
St. George and the dragon in the tower room was painted on wood by the church painter Mårten Johansson in the 17th century .
The silver-plated chandelier was bought in St. Petersburg in 1883 .
The cross on the south wall is from the late 13th century.
On the south wall is the coat of arms of the Footangel family , the former owners of the Germundö house in Saltvik.
The organ gallery was built in connection with the restoration in 1957. The organ prospectus was designed by the organ builder Veikko Virtanen . It was voted by Jan Ryde .
Individual evidence
Jansson, Sören: The Church of St. Mary, Saltvik - A short description, leaflet, no place, no date
Web links
Coordinates: 60 ° 16 '30.9 " N , 20 ° 3' 5.6" E