Akebäck Church () is a medieval church in Akebäck on the island of

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

, Sweden. It's a largely Romanesque church and its main construction period was at the end of the 12th century. The church is part of the

Diocese of Visby The Diocese of Visby () 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 episcopal oversight of ...

within the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

History and architecture

Akebäck Church was constructed of plastered limestone and is, with the exception of the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

, a completely Romanesque church. Most of the building was done at the end of the 12th century, with the tower added during the mid-13th century. The church was inaugurated in 1149. Only the sacristy is considerably later, from 1931. The church has an almost square

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, a semi-circular

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

and a rectangular

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 ...

. It has a simple interior. Notable are the original ceramic pots which have been immured in the vault of the church, as a way to improve the

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

. Another unusual detail is a stone sculpture depicting a stonemason lying down which is immured in the church portal. According to tradition, it was made in memory of one of the men who worked at the church but fell and died during the construction; scholars have suggested that it may on the other hand simply be a stone that was placed in the wrong direction with the picture lying down instead of standing up. Among the furnishings, the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

is unusual in that while it is from the 17th century, the crucifix in the middle is a re-used medieval cross, from the 15th century. The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

is from the 13th century. Of later date is a chandelier, donated in 1850 by a carpenter as a votive gift, "in thanks to

divine providence In theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's intervention in the universe. The term ''Divine Providence'' (usually capitalized) is also used as a names of God, title of God. A distinction is usually made between "general prov ...

, that kept him safe during fourteen years abroad". The smaller of the two church bells was donated in 1993. The church underwent a renovation in 1931–32 under a proposal by architect Sven Brandel (1886–1931). During the renovation, a large

picture stone A picture stone, image stone or figure stone is an ornate slab of stone, usually limestone, which was raised in Germanic Iron Age or Viking Age Scandinavia, and in the greatest number on Gotland.The article ''Bildstenar'' in ''Nationalencyklopedi ...

was found immured in the church. It was extracted and is now displayed outside the church. Akebäck Church belongs to the

and lies within the

References

External links

*
Official site (in Swedish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akeback Church Romanesque architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden 1149 establishments in Europe

History and architecture

References

Further reading

External links