Lagga Church ( sv, Lagga 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 in the

Knivsta Municipality Knivsta Municipality (''Knivsta kommun'') is a municipality in Uppsala County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Knivsta, with some 7,100 inhabitants. History Until 1971 Knivsta was a municipality in Stockholm County, w ...

in the province of

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

, Sweden. It belongs to 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 ...

History and architecture

The currently visible church was built during the 14th century, but may have been preceded by an earlier building. During the 15th century, the church was expanded and rebuilt. The original wooden ceiling was replaced by the currently visible brick vaults. These were originally covered with

frescos Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster ...

but these were replaced with another set of frescos, still visible, at the end of the same century. These frescos were made by the workshop or a follower of Albertus Pictor. Originally both the vaults and the walls were covered in frescos, but in 1747 the walls were painted white. During the 15th century the

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

was also added. The church has remained largely unaltered since. The windows were enlarged in 1815 and the gable of the church porch was decorated in 1870. The church is rectangular in form, with the addition of the sacristy projecting from the church to the north and the

to the south. Its interior layout is that of an

aisleless church An aisleless church (german: Saalkirche) is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated fr ...

. The building material of the church is fieldstone, externally whitewashed. Among the church furnishings, the baptismal font made of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

is the oldest, from the 12th century and thus older than the present church. The altarpiece dates from the end of the 15th century and was made in Sweden, while the wooden

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 ...

dates from the first half of the 14th century. The large wooden

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

is also medieval, as is one of the chandeliers currently in the sacristy. The chandelier in 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 ...

is a gift given to the church at the end of the 17th century by the

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

Gustaf Svinhufvud. His burial

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

also hangs in the church. The pulpit dates from 1718 and was made by Carl Spaak. South east of the church on the cemetery is a copy of a sculpture by

Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedish sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the Gustaf Vasa sta ...

References

External links

* {{Coord, 59, 47, 48, N, 17, 50, 24, E, type:landmark_region:SE, display=title Churches in Uppsala County Churches in the Diocese of Uppsala Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden Church frescos in Sweden