''Östergarn Church'' () is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

church in

Östergarn Östergarn () is a populated area, a ''socken'' (not to be confused with Parishes of the Church of Sweden, parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland. It comprises the same area as the Registration districts in Sweden, administrative Östergarn Dis ...

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

History and architecture

Östergarn Church was built in the middle of the 13th century. Originally a tower was also planned to be built west of 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 ...

, but it was never constructed. A

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, 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 us ...

was added in 1786. The plan of both the nave and the chancel are almost square, which is unusual for churches on Gotland.The church has suffered from a fire in 1565, during the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War,'' the ''Seven Years' War of the North'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), K ...

, and was furthermore pillaged by

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

troops both in 1715 and 1717. No medieval furnishings therefore remain in the church. Instead, these are largely from the 18th century, with the exception of the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

, which from the early 17th century. The facade of the

church organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

is from 1850, designed by Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander. The cemetery contains a memorial in commemoration of fallen crewmembers from the German

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

SMS ''Albatross'' which ran aground outside Östergarn after a naval battle in 1915.

References

Sources cited

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External links

* {{Churches on Gotland 13th-century churches in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden