Guldrupe Church ( sv, Guldrupe kyrka) is a medieval church in
Guldrupe on the island of
Gotland. Its peculiar shape is due to the nave being older than the choir. 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 episc ...
(Sweden).
History
The oldest parts of the presently visible church is 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 ...
, dating from the late 12th century. Oak planks decorated with dragons have however been found on the site, and indicate that there may have existed an earlier, wooden church on the spot. The tower dates from the early 13th century, and from the end of the same century dates the dis-proportionally large
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 ...
and
sacristy. The choir replaced an earlier, smaller choir, but plans to replace also the nave were never carried out. The church has not been substantially altered 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 ...
. The windows date from 1865 and the church was renovated in 1964-65.
Architecture
The church is built of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. The nave and tower are
Romanesque in style, while the somewhat later and larger choir is
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 ...
. The pyramidal tower spire is unusual in that its construction is largely original.
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References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Churches on Gotland
Romanesque architecture in Sweden
Gothic architecture in Sweden
Churches in Gotland County
Churches in the Diocese of Visby
12th-century churches in Sweden
Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden