Löderup Church () is a medieval church in

Löderup Löderup is a locality situated in Ystad Municipality, Skåne County, 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 w ...

Ystad Municipality Ystad Municipality () is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Scania County in southern Sweden. Its seat is the town of Ystad. The present municipality was created in 1971 by the amalgamation of the former ''City of Ystad'' with four surrou ...

, 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. Dating from the 12th century, it has subsequently been expanded and rebuilt, not least under the guidance of architect Carl Georg Brunius in the 1860s. The church contains several old furnishings, including an unusual 12th-century

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 ...

History

The church was erected in the middle of the 12th century. Originally, it featured a broad western tower, a

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 ...

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 ...

and an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. During the 14th 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 added to the north, and in the following century, another church porch was added in front of the south entrance. Concurrently, in the 15th century an adjacent tower, a so-called ' was erected nearby, likely serving a defensive function. During the same century, the interior of the church underwent alterations, with new vaults constructed, possibly decorated with

murals A mural is any piece of 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'' is a Spanish ...

initially. Unfortunately, in the 18th century, these vaults partially collapsed. In 1862 and 1863, Carl Georg Brunius led a substantial reconstruction of the church.

Transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s were added in the north and south, while the choir and apse were demolished, replaced by a triangular chancel. All the church walls were heightened, with the new sections constructed of

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

, and

crow-stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

s were added to the tower and ''kastal''. In 1897, new windows and a gallery for the church

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

were installed according to designs by architect . Additionally, 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 1929.

Architecture and furnishings

The oldest parts of the church are the tower and the nave. The ground floor of the tower is supported by a

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

and open to the nave. The

of the church has been described as one of the most unusual fonts in Scania. The sandstone font dates from around 1160 and is richly decorated with sculpted depictions of the

Passion of Jesus The Passion (from Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week. The ''Passion'' may include, amo ...

and the

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

. The foot of the font contains depictions of battles, including a ship with a dragon's head at the stem, similar to older

Viking ships Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, used in Scandinavia throughout the Middle Ages. The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexi ...

. The decoration on the foot may depict the

Battle of Stiklestad The Battle of Stiklestad (; ) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway () was killed. During the pontificate of Pope Alexander III, the Roman Catholic Church declared Olaf a saint ...

and the martyrdom of

Saint Olaf Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the ...

, and if so is the oldest known depiction of the legend of Saint Olaf in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

. It was made by the sculptor known by a

notname In art history, a (, "name of necessity" or "contingency name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled or generically titled works a ...

as Majestatis. Another 12th-century object originally from Löderup Church is a decorated burial monument, depicting lions and human figures on the slab. It is today housed in the

Swedish History Museum The Swedish History Museum () is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operates as a government agency and is tasked with preservi ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. A ruined, medieval door is also preserved in the church porch. Legend holds that it was destroyed by the men of Jens Grim, 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 member of the

Council of the Realm The Council of the Realm () was a corporate organ of Francoist Spain, created by the Law of Succession to the Headship of the State of 1947. Within the institutional complex created to hierarchize the regime of Francisco Franco (the so-called " ...

, who had been excommunicated by the priest of Löderup Church for having pillaged the parish. Grim's men went to the church, smashed the door and killed the priest, according to this tradition; a large oak tree then grew on the grave of the priest adjacent to the church. The church contains three

altarpieces 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, ...

; the main altarpiece dates from 1878 and is dominated by a painting by Danish artist

Carl Bloch Carl Heinrich Bloch (; 23 May 1834 – 22 February 1890) was a Danish painter. Early life and education Bloch was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and studied there at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi'') un ...

. In addition, the church also has an altarpiece from 1735 and one from 1600; the latter is made by sculptor Jacob Kremberg. The same sculptor also decorated 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 ...

, which dates from 1604 and is in a late Renaissance style. It carries the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of king

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

and queen

Anne Catherine of Brandenburg Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (26 June 1575 – 8 April 1612) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1597 to 1612 as the first spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark. Life Anne Catherine was born in Halle (Saale) and raised in Wolmirstedt. Her p ...

(the province of Skåne only became Swedish in 1658 following the

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde was negotiated at Høje Taastrup Church and was concluded on 26 February ( OS) or 8 March 1658 ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish ci ...

References

External links

* {{Churches in Scania Churches in Skåne County Churches in the Diocese of Lund 12th-century churches in Sweden Ystad Municipality