Bro Church ( sv, Bro kyrka) is a medieval era

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

church at Bro 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 ...

. Situated on what was possibly a pre-Christian sacred site, the presently visible church was built during the 13th century. Stylistically, its architecture shows a mix of Romanesque and Gothic elements. It still contains some medieval furnishings, including a baptismal font by

Sigraf Sigraf (also Sighraf, Sighrafr, fl. c.1175–1210) was a Romanesque stone sculptor, working on Gotland. He was mainly active as a sculptor of baptismal fonts, but also of reliquaries, carved pillars and reliefs. He was the most productive of ...

, and murals. The church belongs to the Väskinde parish in the Diocese of Visby of 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 ...

History

The present-day church is possibly located on an ancient pre-Christian sacred site. There is a well nearby the church which tradition claims to have been a sacrificial well. More concretely, the area is rich in ancient remains, notably a number of picture stones dating from the 5th century. A first Christian church was probably built in the form of a

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ar ...

during the 12th century, of which nothing however remains. Building of the presently visible limestone church probably began in the early 13th century. The present tower, dating from the 1240s, is a remains of this first, Romanesque building. During the middle of the 13th century, a new

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 ...

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''. ...

replaced the previous Romanesque, and likewise a new

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-typ ...

was erected at the end of the century. During this time the profusely rich medieval interior decoration of the church was also successively added. No further greater changes has been made to the exterior of the church since; however, the interior of the church has been affected by additional adornment and also attempts at re-painting the older

mural 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 Spanis ...

s in 1686, ruining the medieval paintings to some extent. Several of the interior details, such as 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, acces ...

and

altarpiece 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 Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

, were also added during the Baroque era. Even so, the church remains one of the most well-preserved medieval churches on Gotland. Bro Church today belongs to Väskinde parish in the Diocese of Visby of the

Architecture

Bro church displays a mix of Romanesque and Gothic architecture and art, with several Baroque details. The tower is a sturdy late Romanesque edifice. The nave is a high, Gothic room with broad vaults which do not rest on any supporting pillars but reach to the walls. The apse is straight, typically for churches on Gotland, instead of semi-circular. Several 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 ...

s, dating from the earlier church, has been incorporated haphazardly in the Gothic church in the exterior wall. A few considerably older picture stones have also been immured in the church. The church has a richly carved southern portal, with capitals depicting, on one side the childhood of Christ, 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 ...

and

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

, while the other side displays intricately carved foliage. Wall paintings cover much of the interior of the church. The original, medieval paintings display scenes from the

Passion of Christ In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ. Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...

, and

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...

. These paintings have on several places been painted over during the 17th century with acanthus-motives and other decoration. Bro church still has its original Romanesque

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). ...

, a work by the stone sculptor or workshop known as

(c.1175–1210). Of the former medieval wooden sculptures, only the triumphal cross dating from the middle of the 12th century remains.

References

External links

*
Official site (in Swedish)
{{Churches on Gotland Romanesque architecture in Sweden 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

Architecture

References

Further reading

External links