Gualöv Church () is a medieval church in

Gualöv Gualöv is a locality situated in Bromölla Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 530 inhabitants in 2010. Gualöv Church is a medieval church with well-preserved frescos and a medieval altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, in ...

Bromölla Municipality Bromölla Municipality () is a municipality in Skåne County in South Sweden in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the town Bromölla. Bromölla was in 1967 reunited with Ivetofta (from which it had been detached as a market town in 1942 ...

, in the province of

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

, Sweden. The church contains several medieval murals and a medieval altarpiece.

History

Gualöv Church was built during the end of the 12th century. A

church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...

was built in the 14th century, and during the 15th century the earlier ceiling was replaced by the present vaults. The

church bell A church bell is a bell in a church building designed to be heard outside the building. It can be a single bell, or part of a set of bells. Their main function is to call worshippers to the church for a service of worship, but are also rung o ...

s are housed in a separate, wooden tower probably dating from the 18th century. Some alterations were made to the church in the 19th century.

Murals

Gualöv Church contains medieval murals from two periods. The oldest are Romanesque in style and are located in the

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 ...

. They depict a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

and a woman, and an inscription in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

stating that this is the portrait of Hugitus and his wife Hialmsvith, who ordered the decorating of the church. It has been suggested that the same couple probably ordered and financed the building of the church. In addition, the choir and

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 ...

also contain murals from the 1470s, depicting religious subjects such as the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

and the Nordic royal saints

Olaf Olaf or Olav (, , or differences between General American and Received Pronunciation, British ; ) is a Dutch, Polish, Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ances ...

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

and

Canute Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

, but also e.g. the Wheel of Fortune. There are also fragments of decorative paintings in the church porch.

Furnishings

The main

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter 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 or sculpture, ...

of the church is from 1704, but the church also contains an altarpiece from the 1510s, displayed on one of the nave walls. It was most likely made in northern Germany. 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 ...

and the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

both date from the 17th century.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gualov Church Churches in Skåne County Churches in the Diocese of Lund Church frescos in Sweden Bromölla Municipality