Båstad Church (), also known as St. Mary's Church (''Mariakyrkan''), is a medieval

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church built in the Romanesque style. Located in

Båstad Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...

, seat of

Skåne County Skåne County ( ), sometimes referred to as Scania County or just Scania in English, is the southernmost Counties of Sweden, county, or , of Sweden, mostly corresponding to the traditional Provinces of Sweden, province of Scania. It borders th ...

in southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, it belongs to the

Diocese of Lund The Diocese of Lund () is a diocese within the Church of Sweden which corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge and Skåne. There are 217 parishes within the diocese, the most significant number in any of the dioceses of the Church of Sweden. Th ...

History and architecture

The church was built in the Romanesque style in the 15th century. Remarkably large for its day, it consisted of a

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 ...

flanked on either side by

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s. The hexagonal choir wall at the eastern end of the building was completed in the 1470s and is reminiscent of that in St Mary's Church,

Ystad Ystad () is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and tourist attracti ...

. The brick tower was built around 1500, giving the church is present appearance.

Interior

The font, inscribed with runes, perpetuates the memory of a certain Per Knudsen. The wooden Madonna, bearing the infant Jesus, dates from the church's establishment. The other old Danish furnishings, including the altar, pulpit and epitaphs, were destroyed during an attack.

Murals

The church walls and vaults contain late Gothic murals painted by different 15th century masters. On the chancel wall, there is a painting of the martyrdom of

Saint Erasmus Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo (died ), was a Christian saint and martyr. He is venerated as the patron saint of sailors and abdominal pain. Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saintly figures of Christian r ...

with two executioners opening his stomach while God leads his soul into heaven. In the nave, the east vault displays three male heads while an arch to the south aisle has vestiges of Christ as a man of sorrow. In the sacristy, there are well preserved murals from the early 16th century depicting the emblems of the

Evangelists Evangelist(s) may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a ...

."Båstads kyrka"
Kyrkokartan.se. Retrieved 9 September 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastad Church Churches in the Diocese of Lund Romanesque church buildings Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Skåne County Church frescos in Sweden Båstad Municipality