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

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 ...

on the Swedish island Gotland. The stately

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 contains elements of a Romanesque

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

, incorporated from an earlier church building on the same site. Görtlingbo Church lies within 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 episc ...

History

The earliest written record of the church is from 1296, when it is mentioned in a papal bull. Archaeological excavations carried out in 1956–1957 however show that there was a stone church here already in the 12th century. The finely carved

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s that adorn the southern façade of the present church obviously come from this first, Romanesque church and have been incorporated in the later Gothic church that is visible today. The western tower was added in the 13th century, and a major reconstruction of the church into its present form was carried out during the late 14th century. The church has remained largely unaltered since, except for a few new furnishings.

Asger Jorn Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International. He was born in Vejrum, in the northwest c ...

is buried in the church cemetery.

Architecture

The church is large in comparison with other country churches on Gotland, and built of local

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. 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 ...

is divided in three sections by sturdy columns. 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 sp ...

lacks an

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''. ...

and instead ends with three slender Gothic windows, a design typical for medieval churches on Gotland. The tower is Romanesque but the spire dates from the 18th century. The southern façade is adorned with elements of a Romanesque frieze, made by the artist commonly referred to as Sigraf and dating from circa 1200. They depict animals, both real and mystical, as well as fighting men and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s on horseback. Scholars are divided as to what they may depict. Some speculate that they may be an illustration of evil forces, pursuing humans. Others argue that they may be illustrating an ancient tale, perhaps that of Beowulf. Later and

in style are the two carved portals on south side of the church. They date from the middle of the 14th century and the workshop has been identified as 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 active on Gotland during c. 1330–1380.Roosval, Johnny (1911) ''Die Kirchen Gotlands, ein Beitrag zur mittelalterlichen Kunstgeschichte Schwedens'' (Leipzig : E.A. Seeman) They depicts Christian scenes such as the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

. Typically for Egypticus the sculpted portals also include grinning, grotesque faces. Inside the church a few 14th century murals survive in the choir, depicting Christian scenes of the same type as the sculpted portals. The vaults in the nave also have some purely decorative paintings. Between the nave and the choir hangs a large

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 ...

, dating from the middle of the 13th century. The baptismal font is also a work by Sigraf and referred to as one of the finest examples of the sculptor's art. The pulpit dates from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

and was originally made for

Visby Cathedral Visby Cathedral ( sv, Visby domkyrka), formally Visby Saint Mary's Cathedral (''Visby S:ta Maria domkyrka'') is a cathedral within the Church of Sweden, seat of the Bishop of Visby. It lies in the centre of Visby, the main town on the Swedish ...

. It still displays the Danish coat of arms, rather than the Swedish.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grotlingbo Church Romanesque architecture in Sweden Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby Church frescos in Sweden Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden

History

Architecture

References

Further reading

External links