Bunge Church ( sv, Bunge kyrka) is a medieval church in Bunge on the Swedish island of Gotland. The church seen today was largely built during the 14th century and is in a High Gothic style typical for churches on Gotland. Inside, the church is richly decorated with medieval murals, including depictions of medieval knights whose significance remain contested. Bunge Church 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

Archaeological excavations carried out in 1916 and 1971 have shown that the present, mainly

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 was pre-dated by a Romanesque church, dating from the 12th century. The massive, fortress-like tower of the church is somewhat later but belonged to this first edifice. 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 ...

and

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 ...

were built in the 14th century in a form of High Gothic typical for Gotland: the nave is high and spacious, divided into two by slender columns; the choir 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 the east end of the church instead finishes in a straight wall adorned with three slender windows. The church and churchyard are surrounded by a wall which originally reached much higher and had a defensive purpose. Four medieval gates still survive in the wall. The church complex evidently has fulfilled a defensive role, as there are marks from pikes and

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...

bolts in the sturdy tower-door, still preserved in its original place. In addition, the inside of the church is profusely decorated with

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 Spani ...

s depicting, among other things, fighting

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. The murals and the church wall may date from the short period in history when Gotland belonged to the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. This has led some scholars to speculate whether the church for a time might have been owned by the crusading Order, and turned into an ''

Ordensburg ''Ordensburg'' (plural ''Ordensburgen'') is a German term meaning "castles/fortresses of (military) orders", and is used specifically for such fortified structures built by crusading German military orders during the Middle Ages. Medieval Or ...

'' (albeit on a small scale). The church today belongs to the

and lies within the

Architecture

The church is one of the largest on northern Gotland. As mentioned, it displays a mix between Romanesque (the tower) and Gothic (the nave and choir). The church has a southern portal, rich in sculpture, and a northern portal with Romanesque details, possibly partially incorporated from the earlier church building. The most distinguishing feature of the interior is no doubt the richly painted walls, with murals executed by a master painter probably from

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

or Bohemia. These are from the late 14th century or early 15th and depict different Christian themes, like the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

, the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

, a few of the apostles but also the

Mass of Saint Gregory The Mass of Saint Gregory is a subject in Roman Catholic art which first appears in the late Middle Ages and was still found in the Counter-Reformation. Pope Gregory I (c. 540–604) is shown saying Mass just as a vision of Christ as the ''Man of ...

and legends of saints. As for the previously mentioned depicted knights, scholars have different views of what they may depict or represent. One theory is that they are Teutonic knights. Another claims that they represent a depiction of the

Battle of Visby The Battle of Visby was fought in 1361 near the town of Visby on the island of Gotland, between the forces of the Danish king and the Gutnish country yeomen. The Danish force was victorious. Background On 22July 1361, King Valdemar IV of Denma ...

, while others believe they are, in line with the other paintings, representing the Christian theme of the martyrdom of the Theban Legion. A single remaining stained glass window remains, a baptismal font from the 13th century and an oddity: a

mite box A poor box, alms box, offertory box, or mite box is a box that is used to collect coins for charitable purposes. They can be found in most Christian churches built before the 19th century and were the main source of funds for poor relief before ...

in stone, which is signed by the stonemason in

rune Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

s, ''Lafrans made this stone''.

References

External links

* {{Churches on Gotland Romanesque architecture in Sweden Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby Church frescos in Sweden Fortified church buildings Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden

History

Architecture

References

Further reading

External links