Levide Church ( sv, Levide kyrka) is a medieval church on the Swedish island of
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 ...
. It lies in the
Diocese of Visby.
History and architecture
Levide Church is a largely
Romanesque church and has a particular style unlike other countryside churches of Gotland. Parts of 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 ...
, notably the area around the portal, is however comparable to the northern portal of
Visby Cathedral
Visby Cathedral ( sv, Visby domkyrka), formally Visby Saint Mary's Cathedral (''Visby S:ta Maria domkyrka'') is a cathedral within the Church of Sweden, seat of the Diocese of Visby, Bishop of Visby. It lies in the centre of Visby, the main town ...
in
Visby
Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...
, the main town of the island.
The oldest parts of the church are the aforementioned choir with its
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''. In ...
, dating from the late 12th century. 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 ...
dates from the early 13th century while the tower was erected at the middle of the same century. The
sacristy
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.
The sacristy is usually located ...
is the only part of the church which is not medieval.
The interior is divided into a nave and two
aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
s, divided by four massive pillars. The ceiling is supported by nine vaults. The interior thus forms a
hall church, and the influences for the layout probably came from German churches of the time. A more direct model was probably what is today Visby Cathedral. The southern wall of the interior is decorated by
mural
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 Spani ...
s, probably from the middle of the 15th century and attributed to the so-called
Master of the Passion of Christ
The Passion Master ( sv, Passionsmästaren) is the name used to refer to an anonymous fresco painter and his workshop, active on Gotland during the 15th century. Works in about fifty churches have been attributed to the artist. The style of the M ...
. They depict apostles and saints, including the Scandinavian saints
Ansgar and
Bridget of Sweden. In addition, there are some purely decorative paintings, probably from the 13th century. A medieval
processional cross
A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions. Such crosses have a long history: the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them "like a standard", according to ...
(14th century) is also preserved in the church. Of later date is the
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 ...
(1662-63) and a
votive ship
A votive ship, sometimes called a church ship, is a ship model displayed in a church. As a rule, votive ships are constructed and given as gifts to the church by seamen and ship builders. Votive ships are relatively common in churches in the Nordi ...
(1748).
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Churches on Gotland
Romanesque 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
Church frescos in Sweden