|
Öja Church
Öja Church ( sv, Öja kyrka) is a medieval church in Öja on the Swedish island of Gotland. The church dates from the 13th century and contains an unusual large and elaborately decorated triumphal cross or rood. It belongs to the Church of Sweden and lies in the Diocese of Visby. History Öja Church is built in a place of ancient cultural traditions. The name, from the Swedish word ''ö'', meaning island, indicates that the place was inhabited before the area became a part of mainland Gotland (through the process of post-glacial rebound), i.e. during the Iron Age, sometime between circa 500 BCE and 500 CE. As late as 1987, there were still fields in the area cultivated according to a system of land use which probably developed already then, or possibly even during the Bronze Age. The first church on the site was built during the 12th century. Of this first Romanesque church, only a few sculpted fragments have survived, incorporated into the presently visible, largely Gothic chur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swedish Language
Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic countries overall. Swedish, like the other Nordic languages, is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, although the degree of mutual intelligibility is largely dependent on the dialect and accent of the speaker. Written Norwegian and Danish are usually more easily understood by Swedish speakers than the spoken languages, due to the differences in tone, accent, and intonation. Standard Swedish, spoken by most Swedes, is the national language that evolved from the Central Swedish dialects in the 19th century and was well established by the beginning of the 20th century. While distinct regional varieties ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
