Torshälla Church is a medieval church building in

Torshälla Torshälla () is a locality situated in Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 7,612 inhabitants in 2010. It is mainly known for steel manufacturing, centered on the Nyby Bruk steel mill, and also for its historic old town ce ...

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 ...

, in 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 ...

Diocese of Strängnäs The Diocese of Strängnäs () is a part of the Lutheran Church of Sweden and has its seat in Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, south of Lake Mälaren. The diocese is made up of the two provinces Närke and Södermanland (except for eastern S ...

. It serves as the

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 ...

town parish church of Torshälla parish and is located at the Rådhustorget market square. The present church building was originally erected in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

during the 12th century at the old heathen sacrificial place of Torsharg. Torshälla was granted city rights in 1317, making the old church insufficient for the growing population of the town. A new

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 ...

was added to the west, transforming the old nave into a

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 ...

.Göran Söderström: ''Torshälla kyrka'' Tidskriften Fornvännen 1968, pages 105 - 106
/ref> During the 15th century, the

church tower Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

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 ...

and vaulted ceiling were added. The tower spire was rebuilt in 1614 to reach a height of 92 meters (302 ft.), making Torshälla Church a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

used for navigation on nearby

Lake Mälaren A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

and one of Sweden's tallest buildings at the time. After the tower

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

and the roof were destroyed in 1873, in a fire caused by a lightning strike, they were replaced with the present, lower brick gabled roof. Wooden sculptures depicting St.

Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden, Bridgettines, OSsS ( – 23 July 1374), also known as Birgitta Birgersdotter and Birgitta of Vadstena (), was a Swedish Catholic Mysticism, mystic and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside Sweden, she was also known as the ...

, St.

Catherine of Vadstena Catherine of Sweden, Katarina av Vadstena, Catherine of Vadstena or Katarina Ulfsdotter (c. 1332 – 24 March 1381) was a Swedish noblewoman. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Her father was Ulf Gudmarsson, Lord of Ulvås ...

, Saint Gertrude and

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

are displayed in the church. The preserved 15th century ceiling paintings are attributed to the master painter

Albertus Pictor Albertus Pictor (English, "Albert the Painter"; Immenhusen, c. 1440 – c. 1507), also called Albert Pictor, Albert Målare and Albrekt Pärlstickare (Swedish), is the most famous late medieval Swedish painter, known for his wallpaintings survivi ...

and include the oldest known depiction of

eyeglasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses (American English), spectacles (Commonwealth English), or colloquially as specs, are Visual perception, vision eyewear with clear or tinted lens (optics), lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front ...

in Sweden, showing

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

as a reading man wearing glasses. Along the south wall a burial vault was built during the 17th century for the family of the early

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

and founder of

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 69,948 inhabitants in 2020, with a total population of 107,806 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality ...

's iron-working industry Reinhold Rademacher (1609-1668).Åstrand, G. Här vilar berömda svenskar. 1999 Notable burials in the graveyard include industrialist and founder of Nyby bruk

Adolf Zethelius Adolf Zethelius (born Erik Adolf Zethelius; 19 February 17817 March 7, 1864) was a Swedish silversmith and industrialist and owner of the Swedish ironworks and Nyby bruk. Life and career The orb, sceptre, and anointing horn, which are part of ...

(1781–1864). File:Torshälla kyrka kalkmålning.jpg, Painted ceiling detail File:Torshälla kyrka predikstol.jpg,

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 ...

File:Torshälla kyrka orgel.jpg,

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 ...

References

External links

360° interior panorama at Virtual Sweden

Church of Sweden: Torshälla kyrka

Göran Söderström: ''Torshälla kyrka'' Tidskriften Fornvännen 1968, pages 92 - 106
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torshalla Church Churches in Södermanland County Churches in the Diocese of Strängnäs Church frescos in Sweden Eskilstuna Municipality