Löderup Church ( sv, Löderups kyrka) is a medieval church in

Löderup Löderup is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in Ystad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 550 inhabitants in 2010. Medieval Löderup Church lies in Löderup. References

Populated places in Ystad Municipality Populated p ...

Ystad Municipality Ystad Municipality ( sv, Ystads kommun) is a municipality in Scania County in southern Sweden. Its seat is the town of Ystad. The present municipality was created in 1971 by the amalgamation of the former ''City of Ystad'' with four surrounding mu ...

, in the province of

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

, Sweden. Dating from the 12th century, it has subsequently been expanded and rebuilt, not least under the guidance of architect Carl Georg Brunius in the 1860s. The church contains several old furnishings, including an unusual 12th-century

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). ...

History

The church was erected in the middle of the 12th century. It originally had a broad western tower, 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 ...

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 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''. In ...

. During the 14th century a church porch was added to the north, and in the following century another church porch was added in front of the south entrance. During the 15th century an adjacent tower, a so-called ' was erected nearby; it probably had a defensive function. During the same century the interior of the church was also changed, and new vaults constructed; these were probably originally decorated with

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

. In the 18th century these partially collapsed. Carl Georg Brunius led a substantial reconstruction of the church between 1862 and 1863.

Transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

s were added in the north and south, and the choir and apse demolished. They were replaced by a triangular chancel. All the walls of the church were made taller (with the new parts made of

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

) and crow-stepped gables added to the tower and ''kastal''. New windows and a gallery for the church

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

were installed in 1897, to designs by architect . A

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 1929.

Architecture and furnishings

The oldest parts of the church are the tower and the nave. The ground floor of the tower is supported by a

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

and open to the nave. The

of the church has been described as one of the most unusual fonts in Scania. The sandstone font dates from around 1160 and is richly decorated with sculpted depictions of the Passion of Jesus 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, which ...

. The foot of the font contains depictions of battles, including a ship with a dragon's head at the stem, similar to older Viking ships. The decoration on the foot may depict the

Battle of Stiklestad The Battle of Stiklestad ( no, Slaget på Stiklestad, non, Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway () was killed. During the pontificate of Pope Alexander III, ...

and the martyrdom of

Saint Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

, and if so is the oldest known depiction of the legend of Saint Olaf in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

. It was made by the sculptor known by a notname as

Majestatis Majestatis ( la, Magister Majestatis Domini, ''The Master of Christ in Majesty'', usually shortened to Majestatis and sometimes referred to as the Tryde Master, fl. second half of the 12th century) was a Romanesque stone sculptor and the creator o ...

. Another 12th-century object originally from Löderup Church is a decorated burial monument, depicting lions and human figures on the slab. It is today housed in the

Swedish History Museum The Swedish History Museum ( sv, Historiska museet or Statens historiska museum) is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operat ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. A ruined, medieval door is also preserved in the church porch. Legend holds that it was destroyed by the men of Jens Grim, a

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 ...

and member of the

Council of the Realm The Council of the Realm ( es, Consejo del Reino) was a corporate organ of Francoist Spain, created by the Law of Succession to the Headship of the State of 1947. Within the institutional complex created to hierarchize the regime of Francisco Fran ...

, who had been excommunicated by the priest of Löderup Church for having pillaged the parish. Grim's men went to the church, smashed the door and killed the priest, according to this tradition; a large oak tree then grew on the grave of the priest adjacent to the church. The church contains three

altarpieces An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a church (building), Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art s ...

; the main altarpiece dates from 1878 and is dominated by a painting by Danish artist Carl Bloch. In addition, the church also has an altarpiece from 1735 and one from 1600; the latter is made by sculptor Jacob Kremberg. The same sculptor also decorated the

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 ...

, which dates from 1604 and is in a late Renaissance style. It carries the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of king

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

and queen

Anne Catherine of Brandenburg Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (26 June 1575 – 8 April 1612) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1597 to 1612 as the first spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark. Life Anne Catherine was born in Halle (Saale) and raised in Wolmirstedt. Her par ...

(the province of Skåne only became Swedish in 1658 following the Treaty of Roskilde).

References

External links

* {{Churches in Scania Churches in Skåne County Churches in the Diocese of Lund 12th-century churches in Sweden