Estuna Church ( sv, Estuna kyrka) is a medieval church belonging 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 ...

in the

Archdiocese of Uppsala The Archdiocese of Uppsala ( sv, Uppsala ärkestift) is one of the thirteen dioceses of the Church of Sweden and the only one having the status of an archdiocese. Lutheran archdiocese Uppsala is the seat of the Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala. Th ...

. The church dates from the early 13th century or possibly the late 12th century. The structure of the building indicates that a tower was initially planned for the eastern end of the church but never built. It may have been intended as a defensive tower which became redundant as times became more peaceful as 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 a ...

progressed in Sweden. The church has been rebuilt and expanded several times. During a renovation of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

in 1733 a patch of

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...

was discovered that noted the date of a re-inauguration of the church to 1298. This was probably done in connection with an enlargement of the church towards the west. The church porch was added during the 15th century. During a renovation in the 20th century, medieval frescoes were discovered and uncovered. Among the church furnishings, most date from the 18th century. 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). ...

is however older, from the 13th century. The elaborate

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

was donated to the church in 1783 and made in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

References

External links

* {{coord, 59, 49, 05, N, 18, 39, 08, E, type:landmark_region:SE, display=title Buildings and structures in Stockholm County Churches in the Diocese of Uppsala Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden