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Gökhem Church ( sv, Gökhems kyrka) is a medieval
"Gökhems kyrka"
Kyrkokartan.se. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
The church walls and ceiling are decorated with 15th-century frescos in shades of brown, green and blue-grey. Those in the vaults of the nave have never been covered in whitewash and are therefore unusually well preserved. Those on the walls, which have been restored, are in worse condition. Those in the apse and chancel have suffered from the blue paint with which they were covered in the 19th century.
The resemblance of the frescos with those in Södra Råda Church indicate they may well have been painted by the same artist: Master Amund. The chancel frescos include paintings of the
Gökhem Church ( sv, Gökhems kyrka) is a medieval Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
church built in the Romanesque style. Located some west of Falköping
Falköping is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,350 inhabitants in 2010.
History
The town of Falköping was first spoken of in the Icelandic ''Rimbegla'' (around 1100 A.D.), and ...
in Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden.
The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...
, Sweden, it belongs to the Diocese of Skara
The Diocese of Skara ( sv, Skara stift) is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden, originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, and since Protestant reformation a Lutheran diocese of the Church of Sweden (the former state church of S ...
. One of Sweden's oldest stone churches, it is noted for its well-preserved 15th-century frescos, possibly the work of Master Amund.
History and architecture
Gökhem Church is one of Sweden's oldest churches. Tree-ring dating of the church's beams indicates it was built around 1077. Built of sandstone and limestone, it originally consisted of a roundedapse
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''. ...
, a chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
and a wider 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 ...
. A chapel and a sacristy were later added to the north of the chancel. While many of the windows have been enlarged, the one on the north side of the chancel has remained unaltered since the Middle Ages. The bell tower is said to have been built by Russian prisoners in the 1720s.Kyrkokartan.se. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
Interior
The vaults, replacing an earlier flat wooden ceiling, were built c. 1485. Until about 1720, there was a rood screen and a medieval altar. The image ofMary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
was then moved into the chapel. The 18th-century pulpit is decorated with paintings of the prophets and disciples while the organ loft has modern paintings of the apostles. The sculpted figures below the pulpit are from the 17th century. The church has two 12th-century fonts, one from the nearby Överkyrke Church which is now a ruin.
Frescos
The church walls and ceiling are decorated with 15th-century frescos in shades of brown, green and blue-grey. Those in the vaults of the nave have never been covered in whitewash and are therefore unusually well preserved. Those on the walls, which have been restored, are in worse condition. Those in the apse and chancel have suffered from the blue paint with which they were covered in the 19th century.
The resemblance of the frescos with those in Södra Råda Church indicate they may well have been painted by the same artist: Master Amund. The chancel frescos include paintings of the Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
, the Fathers of the Church and the prophets
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
. The central vault depicts scenes from the Creation, while in the western part of the nave there are images of the deadly sins and the seven virtues. Mary and the rosary can be seen on the north wall. The legend of Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, ...
decorates the porch.
References
Bibliography
*External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gokhem Church Churches in the Diocese of Skara Romanesque architecture Churches in Västra Götaland County Church frescos in Sweden