Hörsne Church ( sv, Hörsne kyrka) is a medieval church in

Hörsne-Bara Hörsne-Bara is a populated area, a '' socken'' (not to be confused with parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland. Formerly two ''sockens'', Hörsne () and Bara, Bara was merged with Hörsne under the name Hörsne ''socken'' or Hörsne with Bara ...

on the Swedish island of Gotland. Dating from the 13th to the 14th century, the church has unusually richly decorated portals. It belongs to 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 ...

of 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 ...

History

A first stone church was built in Romanesque style here during the 12th century. The oldest part of presently visible church however, is the tower dating from the first half of the 13th century. The rest of the Romanesque church was eventually pulled down and replaced with a

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 ...

main building. Thus the

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 ...

and 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 ...

are from the end of the 13th century, while the

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 ...

was built during the early 14th century. When the nave was constructed, the choir was also modestly "modernised" by the insertion of the presently visible eastern window. Original plans probably intended to eventually also replace the comparatively small tower with a more proportional, Gothic church tower. The church retains much of its medieval character. A restoration was carried out in 1937.

Architecture

The church has two unusually richly sculptured portals. The choir portal display carved foliage and a few figures: two fish and a lion. The main portal is crowned by a sculpture of

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

wielding a club and carrying a shield, sitting astride the

wimperg In Gothic architecture, a wimperg is a gable-like crowning over portals and windows and is also called an ''ornamental gable''. Outside of immediate architecture, the wimperg is also found as a motif in Gothic carving. Etymology The word has ...

. Underneath, the capitals are profusely sculpted with scenes from the apocalypse. Other capitals are decorated with foliage ornamentation. Both of the portals may have been made by the stone sculptor or workshop known by its modern

notname In art history, a ''Notname'' (, "necessity-name" or "contingency-name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled, or generically title ...

Egypticus, which was active on Gotland. Some of the church windows display original stained glass paintings, displaying architectural motifs, foliage and a depiction of Bartholomew the Apostle. The church's altarpiece is a curious mix between

wooden sculptures, evidently stemming from an earlier (14th century) altarpiece, incorporated into a Baroque altar from 1701. The church also has a notable

triumphal cross A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...

, where the figure of Jesus is 15th century but the cross itself from the 17th. The

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

s, the pulpit and baptismal font are all from the 17th and 18th centuries.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horsne Church Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden

History

Architecture

References

Further reading

External links