St. John's Church ( sv, S:t Johannes kyrka) is a church located near Triangeln in the Innerstaden district of

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. It was designed by Axel Anderberg in the Jugend style and built in 1903–1907.

History

In 1901 the drawings were approved for a new church, which would relieve St. Peter's and St. Paul's parishes, where the population growth was large. Construction started in 1903, with a planned completion date of 1906, which was when St. John's Parish was founded. (That year is engraved in the sandstone above the main entrance). However, construction was delayed and the parish had to hold their first services in St. Paul's Church. The church was finally inaugurated by Bishop Gottfrid Billing on Holy Trinity Day, June 1, 1907. Designed in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style, the church distinguishes itself considerably from those built in the new Gothic style around the same time. Art Nouveau had just become fashionable in Sweden and followed the National Romantic currents of the time. Architecturally, the Art Nouveau style meant soft, rounded forms and St. John's Church certainly shows examples of this.

Architecture

The church was erected in red brick on a granite base and the roof has enamel tiling. In all, there are approximately 20 different kinds of natural stone in the church's ornaments. To mark the arrival of a new era, the architect did not place the tower and the armoury on the west, as was the tradition, but on the north side of the church, just beside the sanctuary.

The Pulpit

On the pulpit, there are five sections which are made of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, carved by the sculptor Carl Andersson. These carvings are a description of the life of Jesus, showing the stable with Mother Mary and the Child Jesus, Jesus at the age of twelve in the temple, Jesus' baptism, the bearing of the cross and Jesus leaving the open grave.

References

External links

* Art Nouveau architecture in Sweden Art Nouveau church buildings in Sweden 20th-century Church of Sweden church buildings Churches in the Diocese of Lund Churches in Malmö Churches completed in 1906 1906 establishments in Sweden {{Sweden-church-stub