St. Lawrence's Church () is a medieval

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in

Söderköping Söderköping is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,992 inhabitants in 2010. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still refe ...

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 ...

. The original church was dedicated to

Lawrence of Rome Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

and the church retained its name also following the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. It is located in central Söderköping and functions as a parish church within the

Diocese of Linköping The Diocese of Linköping () is a diocese within the Church of Sweden administering the Östergötland County, the north eastern part of Jönköping County and the northern part of Kalmar County. It comprises nine deaneries subdivided into 176 ...

. It is one of two surviving medieval churches in Söderköping, the other being

Drothem Church Drothem Church () is a medieval Lutheran church in Söderköping, Sweden. The church dates back to the end of the 13th or the 14th century and is one of two surviving medieval churches in Söderköping, the other being St. Lawrence's Church, Söd ...

(''Drothems kyrka''). Both churches are associated with the

of the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

History

The church has a long and complicated history that goes back to sometime around the end of the 13th century or the very beginning of the 14th. It is one of few medieval churches in

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

built entirely in

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 ...

, a circumstance which may be connected to there being a large number of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

merchants active in Söderköping at the time, and it remains a fine Swedish example of

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...

. The original church had the form of a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

with a central

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 ...

and two

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s. During a city fire in 1494 the church was damaged and subsequently rebuilt. An external belfry was erected in the 1580s. During its history, it has been reconstructed, renovated (not least as a consequence of damage from recurrent floodings caused by the nearby Söderköpingsån) and altered on several occasions, but retains much of its medieval form and look. Externally, the church is dominated by its red brick façade, interspersed with

blind arch A blind arch is an arch found in the wall of a building that has been infilled with solid construction and so cannot serve as a passageway, door or window.''A Dictionary of Architecture''; Fleming, John; Honour, Hugh & Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966) ...

es and supported by brick

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es. As it has no protruding

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 ' ...

, both the west and the east end of the church is marked by straight façades that end in

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. On the external wall of the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

, St. Lawrence is depicted. During a renovation in 1965, an immured

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...

was discovered and laid bare in one of the walls.

Architecture

The interior today is a typical

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

, dominated by white-washed vaulting. Remains of medieval fresco painting has been laid bare during 20th-century restorations. The church also contains some noteworthy inventories, such as a late medieval altarpiece, possibly French; a Triumph Cross possibly made in

Vadstena Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It bo ...

circa 1400; a processional crucifix from the 13th century and several medieval carved wooden statuettes of saints. The church has been the venue for royal coronations in Sweden on two occasions. The first time was when

Helvig of Holstein Helvig of Holstein (also known as Hedwig;Philip Line, ''Kingship and state formation in Sweden, 1130-1290'', BRILL, 2007, 9004155783, p. 390. – ) was Queen of Sweden as the consort of King Magnus Ladulås. Her parents were Gerhard I, Count o ...

, wife of

Magnus III of Sweden Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

, was crowned Queen of Sweden on 29 June 1281. The second was when

Birger Magnusson Birger Magnusson (1280 – 31 May 1321) was King of Sweden from 1290 to 1318. His reign was marked by unrest and civil strife; he was imprisoned by his brothers Erik Magnusson (duke), Erik and Valdemar Magnusson, Valdemar following the "Håtuna g ...

and

Martha of Denmark Martha of Denmark (after 1277 – 2 March or 3 October 1341) was Queen of Sweden by marriage to King Birger. She was the daughter of King Eric V of Denmark and sister of King Eric VI. She was given the name at birth, but in Sweden was calle ...

were crowned King and Queen of Sweden in the church in 1302.

Gallery

Sankt Laurentii kyrka pulpit.jpg, Pulpit Sankt Laurentii kyrka sanctuary.jpg, Sanctuary St Laurentii Baptismal font.jpg, Baptismal font St Laurentii Thriumph Crucifix.jpg, Triumph Cross

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Lawrence's Church, Soderkoping Churches in the Diocese of Linköping 14th-century churches in Sweden Gothic architecture in Sweden Söderköping Churches in Östergötland County

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links