Eke Church ( sv, Eke kyrka) is a medieval church in Eke on the Swedish island of

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 ...

. The church was built during the 12th and 13th century, with only smaller additions and changes made later. Inside, several medieval murals survive. The church is used by 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.

History and architecture

The current church with its Romanesque

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 ...

and

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 ...

tower was predated by 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 ...

on the same location, fragments of which was found under the floor of the presently visible church in 1916. The stave church had been decorated with paintings in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

style. The oldest part of the current building is the nave 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 ...

, dating from the mid-13th century. The disproportionately massive tower was added circa 1300. Later additions to the church include the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

(19th century), and the enlargement of all original windows save one. Externally, the church is dominated by the massive tower. The tower has a Gothic portal while the nave has Romanesque portals, decorated with alternating red

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 w ...

and grey-green

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 silicat ...

. Internally, the church is richly decorated with medieval murals. The oldest (13th century) are found in the choir and depict imaginary animals, geometrical ornaments and foliage. The other paintings are from the middle of the 15th century and depict 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 ...

as well as other stories from the bible. Among the church furnishings, the

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). ...

by the Romanesque sculptor

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 ...

, dating from the 12th century, deserves mention, as do a wooden

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

from about 1500. The pews and 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 ...

are from the 18th century. The church was renovated in 1916 and again in 1969-1971.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Romanesque architecture in Sweden Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby Church frescos in Sweden 13th-century churches in Sweden Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden

History and architecture

References

Further reading

External links