Sånga Church ( sv, Sånga 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 on Färingsö island, close to

Svartsjö Palace Svartsjö Palace ( sv, Svartsjö slott, "Black Lake Castle") is a Rococo palace situated in Svartsjö on the island of Färingsö in lake Mälaren. It lies just outside of Stockholm. History Royal residence The location of this palace has hous ...

in the Diocese of Stockholm in Stockholm County, Sweden.

History and architecture

Although mentioned in written sources for the first time in 1308, the church evidently is much older, dating from the 1170s. It was expanded during the 14th and 15th centuries and transformed from a Romanesque church into 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 ...

. Both externally and internally, the church retains much of its medieval appearance. The tall spire is from 1730 but replaced an earlier spire of the same form. The church's windows have been enlarged in phases, but no other major alterations have been made to the exterior of the church. Inside, the church is decorated with a large and rich set of frescos, dating from circa 1470. The motifs are a mix of Christian, religious pictures and humorous grotesques. Among the more unusual of the frescos are depictions of the fifteen signs that forebode the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

. Among the church furnishings, the pulpit is an unusually richly carved Baroque piece, profusely decorated with

intarsia Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry. The start of the practice dates from before the seventh century AD. The technique of intarsia inlays sections of wood (at times with contrasting ivory or bone, or mother-of-pear ...

. The baptismal font, dating from the 12th century, is richly decorated, and the

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 ...

(circa 1300) also merits special mention. The altarpiece is a work by Jordan Painter. A carved wooden

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

from 1584 is believed to contain the second oldest

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...

in Swedish art, a few years younger than the ''

Vädersolstavlan ''Vädersolstavlan'' (; ) is an Oil painting, oil-on-panel painting depicting a Halo (optical phenomenon), halo display, an Atmosphere, atmospheric optical phenomenon, observed over Stockholm on 20 April 1535. It is named after the sun dogs ( sv ...

''.

References

External links

Official site (in Swedish)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanga Church Buildings and structures in Stockholm County Church frescos in Sweden 12th-century churches in Sweden Churches in the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden) Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden