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

Hablingbo Hablingbo () is a populated area, a ''socken'' (not to be confused with parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland. It comprises the same area as the administrative Hablingbo District, established on 1January 2016. In 1961, the Havor Hoard was f ...

on the Swedish island of Gotland. It is one of the largest churches on Gotland, and dating largely from the 14th century, although the current church building was preceded by a

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ar ...

. The stone portals of the church are comparatively richly decorated. It is used by 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 ...

and part of 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 ...

History

The earliest church at the site was a

, built in the early 12th century at the latest. It was later replaced by a Romanesque stone church, the tower of which still survives in the present building. 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 ...

and

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 ...

were completely rebuilt during the 14th century to their present Gothic look. Few alterations have been made since. Several of the medieval furnishings have been removed and placed in museums, however. The altarpiece is Baroque in style and dates from the 1600s, and 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 are

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, dating from the 1890s.

Architecture

The church is one of the largest on Gotland. The nave has broad bays and high vaults and is unusually monumental. Typically for churches on the island, the choir lacks an

apse 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''. ...

. The church has three richly carved portals set in the facade. The oldest is on the northern side and is probably a remnant of the older, Romanesque church. The sculpted decor dates from the 12th century and is a work by the anonymous artist Majestatis. It includes, among other things, one of the first known depictions of the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n art. The sculpted portal is considered one of the most interesting pieces of Romanesque art in present-day Sweden. The other portals are located on the south facade, and are later, Gothic pieces of sculpture. Especially the main portal displays a rich décor. The sculptures depict Christian themes, such as the life of

Mary 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 ...

. The portals were probably made in the medieval workshop which is sometimes referred to as Egypticus. Inside, there are remains of

wall painting A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

s from the 15th century in the choir. On a wall in the tower, there is also a painted

Troy Town Many turf mazes in England were named Troy Town, Troy-town or variations on that theme (such as Troy, The City of Troy, Troy's Walls, Troy's Hoy, or The Walls of Troy) presumably because, in popular legend, the walls of the city of Troy were co ...

; here is also a gravestone located which probably predates the stone church. It is a Christian gravestone, carved with

runes Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

Portals of Hablingbo church

File:Hablingbo-kyrka-Gotland-Portal-01.jpg, The north (Romanesque) portal File:HablingboKyrka-04.jpg, The main southern (Gothic) portal File:Hablingbo-kyrka-Gotland-Portal-02.jpg, The southern, choir (Gothic) portal

References

External links

* {{Churches on Gotland Romanesque architecture in Sweden Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby Church frescos in Sweden Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden