Atlingbo Church ( sv, Atlingbo kyrka) is a medieval church in

Atlingbo Atlingbo 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 Atlingbo District, established on 1January 2016. Geography Atlingbo is situated in the c ...

on the Swedish island

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 ...

. Atlingbo Church was built in stages during the 13th century, with only the sacristy being of later date. The church contains a decorated Romanesque baptismal font made by the workshop or sculptor known as

Byzantios Byzantios is the notname of a Romanesque stone sculptor or workshop, working on Gotland in present-day Sweden during the last quarter of the 12th century. Byzantios was the first of a series of Romanesque stone sculpture workshops active on Gotl ...

. It is used by 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 and architecture

The present church was erected on the site of at least one earlier church; the first church on the site may have been one of the first churches on Gotland as it is mentioned in the

Gutasaga Gutasaga (''Gutasagan'') is a saga regarding the history of Gotland before its Christianization. It was recorded in the 13th century and survives in only a single manuscript, the Codex Holm. B 64, dating to , kept at the National Library of Sweden ...

. The presently visible church was erected during the 13th century. The oldest parts are 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 ...

and

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 ...

, dating from the first part of the century. At the end 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 ...

and tower base were constructed; the tower was never finished. The

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in 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 usually located ...

was added in 1800–01. The church has three remaining medieval portals, two

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 ...

and one Romanesque. In the nave there is unusually a

hagioscope A hagioscope (from Gr. ''άγιος'', holy, and ''σκοπεῖν'', to see) or squint is an architectural term denoting a small splayed opening or tunnel at seated eye-level, through an internal masonry dividing wall of a church in an obliq ...

. Among the furnishings of the church, the octagonal

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

was made during the 12th century, probably by the Romanesque sculptor or workshop known as Byzantios. The

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

date from the 17th century while the pews are from the 18th century. The church belongs to the

and lies within the

References

External links

* {{Churches on Gotland Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby 13th-century churches in Sweden Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden

History and architecture

References

Further reading

External links