Eksta Church ( sv, Eksta kyrka) is a medieval church in
Eksta on the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
island of
Gotland, 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 ...
. The church underwent substantial changes during a restoration in 1838.
History and architecture
The oldest part of Eksta Church is the tower, dating from the 13th century and still unchanged. The rest of the church is also from 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 ...
, but was heavily rebuilt in 1838.
The church still has four medieval portals, in both
Romanesque 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 ...
style.
The interior of the church is largely
Neoclassical, dating from the 1838 renovation.
[ A few traces of medieval murals have survived on the walls, as have a single stained glass window pane – a rare example of ''in situ'' ]medieval stained glass in Sweden
The surviving amount of medieval stained glass in Sweden is relatively small, compared to some other European countries. There are in total 165 medieval stained glass panes with figurative depictions surviving in 37 churches, constituting a tota ...
.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Official site
(in Swedish)
{{Authority control
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