The Björlanda Church (Swedish: ''Björlanda kyrka'') is a medieval church in Björlanda,

Gothenburg Municipality Gothenburg Municipality ( or ) is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Gothenburg. When the first Swedish local government acts were implemented in 1863 the City of Gothenburg, founde ...

, western

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 ...

. It is located on the

Hisingen Hisingen () is the fifth-largest island of Sweden (after Gotland, Öland, Södertörn and Orust), with an area of . It is a river island, formed by the split of the Göta Älv at Bohus Fortress, Bohus, and is defined to the east and south by t ...

island and belongs to the parish of Torslanda-Björlanda in the

Diocese of Gothenburg The Diocese of Gothenburg () is a diocese of the Church of Sweden. Since March 2018, the bishop has been Susanne Rappmann. The diocese includes the provinces of Bohuslän, Halland, and south-west parts of Västergötland. The episcopal see of the ...

History

The church was built in the 12th century, and inaugurated, according to the Icelandic skald

Eysteinn Ásgrímsson Eysteinn Ásgrímsson (c. 1310 – March 14, 1361) was an Icelandic monk, ecclesiastical inspector, and ''skald'' (poet); ', the best known and possibly the best medieval Icelandic Christian poem, is attributed to him. Life Eysteinn Ásgrímsso ...

, on a 15 July; the year of the inauguration is not known. The building has been renovated and extended numerous times. Additional windows were installed in the 17th century. In 1734, the medieval

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

was torn down. The renovation works of 1936 resulted in the discovery of medieval

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, 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'' ...

s. The church is surrounded by a churchyard, the first records of which come from the 18th century.

References

Churches in Gothenburg 14th-century churches in Sweden Hisingen Churches in the Diocese of Gothenburg Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden {{Sweden-Lutheran-church-stub