Öja Church ( sv, Öja kyrka) is a medieval church in Öja on the Swedish island of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

. 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 The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

and lies in the

Diocese of Visby The Diocese of Visby ( sv, Visby stift) is a division of the Church of Sweden consisting of the island of Gotland. Its seat is Visby Cathedral located in the largest town on Gotland, Visby. The Bishop of Visby is also responsible for the episcop ...

History

Öja Church is built in a place of ancient cultural traditions. The name, from the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

), i.e. during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

, 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 Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. 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 Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church. During the 13th century, construction of the present building began. The

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

with its internal

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

was built first, during the first half of the century. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was added after, at the end of the century, while the tower was added during the 14th century. The construction of the church indicates that the original plans did not include a separate tower, but rather a tower above the western end of the nave. Scholars have concluded that the tower was built by a stonemason's workshop which is sometimes referred to by the

notname In art history, a ''Notname'' (, "necessity-name" or "contingency-name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled, or generically title ...

Egypticus, which was also active at e.g.

Grötlingbo Grötlingbo is a populated area, a socken (not to be confused with parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland. It comprises the same area as the administrative Grötlingbo District, established on 1January 2016. The Kattlund farm in Grötlingbo i ...

and Hablingo churches, located elsewhere on Gotland. The church has remained largely unchanged since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, with the exception of the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

which was added in the 19th century.

Architecture

Externally, the church is noteworthy for its unusually well-preserved tower, complete with original

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

s and gable decorations. The church also has three carved

portals, of which the northern is the mostly richly decorated. Here are sculptures representing

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

and a peculiar sculpture of a saint lying down, interpreted as

Saint Eligius Saint Eligius (also Eloy, Eloi or Loye; french: Éloi; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660 AD) is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and Coin collecting, coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of veterinarians, the Royal Elect ...

. The interior of the church is dark and characterised by the church's sturdy

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s and pillars. The walls are decorated with

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s dating from the 15th century, depicting the

Passion of Christ In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ. Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...

and scenes from the childhood of Christ, made by the artist known as the

Master of the Passion of Christ The Passion Master ( sv, Passionsmästaren) is the name used to refer to an anonymous fresco painter and his workshop, active on Gotland during the 15th century. Works in about fifty churches have been attributed to the artist. The style of the M ...

. In addition, purely ornamental decoration from the 13th century adorns the vaults, and a few more unusual murals, probably made by an artist from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

or mainland Sweden, decorate the choir. The church has a large and elaborately carved

triumphal cross A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...

. It has been executed by a wood-carver, possibly trained in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, who might also be the artist behind a somewhat similar cross in

Fröjel Church Fröjel Church ( sv, Fröjels kyrka) is a medieval church in Fröjel on the Swedish island of Gotland. Fröjel Church may have been built to serve not only as a church, but also as a fortification. Stylistically, it is a mix of Romanesque and Goth ...

and it dates from the late 13th century. The unusually elaborate crucifix has been called "Gotland's most admired wooden sculpture" and "one of Gotland's most well-known medieval pieces of art". Beneath the cross are furthermore copies of two almost equally well-regarded sculptures depicting Mary and St. John (the original sculptures are now in the Museum of Gotland in

Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...

Gallery of pictures of the triumphal cross

File:Gotland-Oeja kyrka 06.jpg, The triumphal cross of Öja church and its location in the church File:Gotland-Oeja kyrka Triumpfkreuz 01.jpg, Detail File:Gotland-Oeja kyrka Triumpfkreuz 02.jpg, Detail File:Oeja kyrka Triumpfkreuz - Kopf Christi.jpg, Detail File:Gotland-Oeja Kyrka Triumpfkreuz 07.jpg, Detail

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oja Romanesque architecture in Sweden Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby 12th-century churches in Sweden Church frescos in Sweden Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden