Föra Church ( sv, Föra kyrka) is a Lutheran church on the Swedish island of Öland, in the Baltic Sea. It belongs to the

Diocese of Växjö The Diocese of Växjö ( sv, Växjö stift) is one of the 13 dioceses or regional units of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It was also a former Roman Catholic bishopric. Lutheran diocese Diocese of Växjö is situated in southern Sweden and inclu ...

. Dating from the Middle Ages, it was heavily reconstructed during the 19th century.

History and architecture

The first church on this spot was a stave church, built in the 11th century. Traces of the stave church can still be discerned in the church tower. The wooden church was replaced by a stone church during the 1160s, and during the same century it was rebuilt into a fortified church. The church eventually had two towers as well as a fighting platform. Of this medieval church only the tower remains today, however. In 1825 the congregation decided to replace the old church with a new one, and in 1828 the church was demolished. A new, Neoclassical church was added to the still standing western tower. The tower itself was slightly altered and a

roof lantern A roof lantern is a daylighting architectural element. Architectural lanterns are part of a larger roof and provide natural light into the space or room below. In contemporary use it is an architectural skylight structure. A lantern roof wil ...

was added to it. The new church was inaugurated in 1837, while its southern portal was added as late as 1863 and carries the

monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...

of King

Charles XV Charles XV also Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''); Swedish: ''Karl XV'' and Norwegian: ''Karl IV'' (3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden (''Charles XV'') and Norway, there often referred to as Charles IV, from 8 July 1859 until his dea ...

. Apart from the western tower, the church is Neoclassical in style both inside and outside. The architect was C. Blom-Carlsson. Under the floor of the church, the foundations of the medieval church still exist. The tower is an unusually well-preserved defensive medieval church tower. It still contains vaulted rooms, storage facilities and a privy, which is possibly the oldest privy in Sweden. The tower has probably been used as a shelter both during peace and war, and remains of scraps of food, clothes and tokens for board games have been found there. Among the church fittings, the dominating

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 o ...

was made in 1776 by the local artist Anders Georg Wadsten and so is incorporated into the 19th century church from the old church. The church also still contains several medieval items. 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). ...

dates from the 13th century, the altar is from the 12th and made of sandstone from

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 ...

. There is also a late medieval crucifix and two medieval sculptures, one from the late 14th century and one from c. 1500. 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, access ...

dates from 1762.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fora Church Churches in the Diocese of Växjö Churches in Kalmar County Fortified church buildings