HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vä Church ( sv, Vä kyrka), sometimes also called Saint Mary's Church in Vä (''Mariakyrkan i Vä'') is a well-preserved Romanesque church in , in the southern Swedish province of Scania. It belongs to the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Swed ...
and is a
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
. It was built in the early 12th century, at a time when Scania was part of Denmark. The building was commissioned by a member of the Danish royal family, probably Queen Margaret Fredkulla. The church originally consisted of a nave, a
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...
with an apse and two western towers. Quite soon after being finished, it was donated to Premonstratensian monks who used it as the church of their monastery until 1213. It simultaneously functioned as the parish church of Vä. At the end of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, a third tower was built, and in 1593 the building was enlarged. At the beginning of the 19th century, the western towers were demolished. A major restoration was carried out in the 1960s. The church is one of the oldest stone churches in Sweden and shows several similarities with Lund Cathedral, built at approximately the same time. Although some of the original stone sculptures have been destroyed, some have been preserved. For example, the western portal still displays its original sculptured
capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
. The interior also contains some of the oldest
church murals in Sweden Church murals or church wall paintings are mostly medieval paintings found in several Swedish churches. They usually adorn the vaults or walls of the buildings. In Swedish they are sometimes referred to as ''kalkmålningar'', literally "lime ...
. These decorate the chancel and the apse. In the chancel, the barrel vault ceiling is decorated with figures carrying
speech scroll In art history a speech scroll (also called a banderole or phylactery) is an illustrative device denoting speech, song, or other types of sound. Developed independently on two continents, the device was in use by artists within Mesoamerican cult ...
s of the Christian hymn
Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chu ...
, a subject matter not found elsewhere among medieval murals in Sweden. The apse is dominated by a mural depicting
Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, who ...
.


Location and surroundings

The church is located on a small hill south of a small brook. It is situated within its own cemetery. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
the town of , surrounding the church, was a locally important centre of trade and enjoyed
town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...
. It was, like the rest of the province of Scania, part of Denmark until the
Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde (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 city of Roskilde. After a devastating defeat, ...
in 1658. After having been pillaged by Swedish troops, the Danish King
Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mona ...
decided to move the settlement to a more easily defended location. In 1614 Vä was degraded to the status of village, while most of the population moved to the newly founded city
Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish ''Christianstad'') is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has gone from a garrison town to a developed ...
, approximately away.


History


Foundation and construction

Vä Church is one of the oldest stone churches in Scania. Several letters of donation from the 12th century, preserved through later copies, show that the church was donated by the Danish queen consort Sophia of Minsk and the king,
Valdemar I of Denmark Valdemar I (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great ( da, Valdemar den Store), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zen ...
, to Premonstratensian monks some time after its construction. Contrary to what was common practice at the time, the letters of donation mention her name together with that of the king. This may indicate that the church and its incomes were the personal inheritance of the queen, rather than the king. The church thus clearly belonged to the Danish royal family prior to the donation, but it is not known who commissioned the building and its age has been the matter of discussion. When it was renovated in the 1960s, a scrap of
parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins o ...
was discovered in a lead box concealed in the medieval altar, bearing a date which has been interpreted as 1131. Archaeologists have assumed that this date refers to the dedication of the church. Among the preserved murals there are two
donor portrait A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or (much more rarely) her, family. ''Donor portrait'' usually refers to the portr ...
s of a king and a queen. Unusually, these depict the queen as the main donor of the church. Queen Margaret Fredkulla died around 1130, and had family connections to the and the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
, which could explain the strong influences of
Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...
in the architecture of the building. There is also a faint inscription in
runes Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...
in the chancel. Although difficult to interpret, it may contain the names of some close relatives to the queen. For these reasons it is assumed that the church was commissioned by Margaret Fredkulla. Earlier theories put forward King Canute V, King
Niels Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nicolaos after Saint ...
or Queen Richeza as possible builders. It was originally dedicated to
Saint Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
and probably built nearby a royal estate.


Further changes

The church originally consisted of a nave with a flat wooden roof, two western towers, a western entrance and a barrel vaulted
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...
with an apse. It was possibly built in two stages, and finished by the time it was donated to the Premonstratensians in the 1160s. It then served as the church of their monastery and simultaneously functioned as the parish church of the borough of Vä, probably during the entire Middle Ages. The Premonstratensians made few changes to the church. A southern entrance was created, the west entrance altered and, possibly, a
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, ...
installed. A fire ravaged the building in 1213, and after this the monks moved away to found a new monastery on the site of present-day Bäckaskog Castle. During the 13th century, the vaults were constructed, replacing the wooden ceiling of the nave, and the walls were made slightly higher and the
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...
s steeper. A third tower, the only one still preserved, was built at the end of the Middle Ages to house the church bells. The church was extended towards the north in 1593. The windows, which were successively enlarged during several centuries, probably attained their current shape in 1781. In 1804 the two western towers were demolished, and the church was again damaged by fire in 1810. Several proposals to restore the by then rather dilapidated building were put forward during 19th century. The entire interior was
whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used. ...
ed, and in 1854 the walls and ceiling of the chancel were decorated with Neoclassical decorations. Plans for a thorough renovation were made in the 1920s but it was not until the 1960s that the church was restored and an
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
survey conducted.


Architecture

Vä Church was built around the same time as Lund Cathedral, which lies about from Vä, and the similarities between the two buildings have been pointed out frequently. The monumental aspect, high quality of the craftsmanship of the builders, and several stylistic features connect Vä Church with the cathedral in Lund. Notably the apse and the decorative elements, influenced by contemporary Lombardic architecture, are clearly similar to corresponding elements in Lund Cathedral.


Exterior

The earliest parts of the building are easily distinguished from the later additions, which are whitewashed. In contrast, the original parts of the building are constructed of finely cut
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitr ...
s made of greyish
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
. The building seen today consists of a nave which incorporates the base of the former western towers, a chancel and an apse. The only remaining, late medieval tower is joined with the nave approximately halfway along its south facade. The extension from 1593 is two
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...
wide and extends from the nave to the north. The total length of the church is . The facade of the nave and chancel are decorated with lesenes at the corners, and corbel tables supporting the
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
at the height of the original walls; the top part of the nave walls are later and whitewashed. The apse is divided by four narrow columns, double corbel tables and a more marked cornice supporting the roof. Originally there were three portals leading into the church, of which the western one has been preserved relatively intact. The northern portal has vanished and the southern has been altered. It now connects the sacristy, located in the base of the tower, with the nave. The western portal still serves as the main entrance and is a round arched portal decorated with decorated
capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
. The southern capitals are decorated with plant ornaments and the northern with figurative sculptures. The southern portal, now only visible from inside the sacristy, has an equally rich sculptural decoration. From the northern portal nothing remains except the decorated tympanum, found during the renovation of the church in the 1960s. Its decoration is almost identical to sculptures found in Lund Cathedral. Four original sculpted stones, depicting beasts and religious symbols, are also incorporated in the eastern part of the facade. In 1945, it was discovered that the
weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , ...
on the roof was an aquamanile in the form of a knight on horseback, dating from the Romanesque era, i.e. the construction period of the church. It is one of only two such aquamaniles known in Sweden. The aquamanile was subsequently restored and exhibited in the church. A simplified copy was made to replace it as a weather vane.


Interior

The best-preserved part of the interior is the eastern end, notably the chancel and the apse. The chancel is covered with an original barrel vault, and the apse by a
semi-dome In architecture, a semi-dome (or half-dome) is a half dome that covers a semi-circular area in a building. Architecture Semi-domes are a common feature of apses in Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civil ...
. There are four capitals preserved in each corner of the chancel. They may have been intended to carry a
rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...
which was never built. The nave is dominated by the two central pillars carrying six rib vaults which were constructed in the 13th century. A large part of the north wall of the original nave has been demolished when the 1598 extension to the north was built, creating a shortened north
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building with ...
. The nave is connected with the chancel through a wide, round arched
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...
arch which is original. The west end of the church, the area surrounding the main entrance, originally also served as a base for the two towers which were demolished in the early 19th century. Above the main entrance there is a small room, which could have been a gallery once used by members of the royal family. From there they could participate in the celebration of
mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...
without having to mingle with the congregation.


Murals

Vä Church contains some of the oldest—possibly the very oldest— church murals in Sweden. They have been described as being "of excellent quality, also compared with the rest of Europe". Their style is
Italo-Byzantine Italo-Byzantine is a style term in art history, mostly used for medieval paintings produced in Italy under heavy influence from Byzantine art. It initially covers religious paintings copying or imitating the standard Byzantine icon types, but pa ...
, in the same tradition as e.g. the murals in the (France), St. Gabriel's Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral (England) or the
Znojmo Rotunda The Rotunda of St. Catherine ( cz, Rotunda sv. Kateřiny), known as the Znojmo Rotunda (''Znojemská rotunda''), is a Romanesque rotunda located in Znojmo, Czech Republic. It is the town's most valuable monument, and features one of the oldest ...
(Czech Republic). In style they are closely related to those in in
Wunstorf Wunstorf () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the town of Wunstorf: Blumenau (with Liethe), Bokeloh, Großenheidorn, Idensen ...
, Germany. These stylistic traits may have arrived from Eastern Europe, perhaps conveyed through the many personal contacts between the Danish royal family and the nobility of . The murals decorate the entire chancel ceiling, the west wall of the chancel and the apse. The semi-dome of the apse shows
Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, who ...
, sitting on a rainbow with Earth as his footstool. The right hand of Christ is raised in a sign of blessing, and the left hand holds a book. He is dressed in an alb with blue details, decorated with ''clavi'', golden bands originally denoting the majesty of the Roman emperor, but here signifying the Lord of Heaven. He is surrounded by the symbols of the Four Evangelists. This representation is typical for early Romanesque art in southern Sweden, but the painting is larger than usual, painted using unusually expensive pigments, and may indicate how the apse of Lund Cathedral could have been decorated originally. Beneath the semi-dome there are badly damaged murals depicting, on the north wall, what is probably an
archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other re ...
and Saint Mary. On the wall between the apse and the chancel there are depictions of (possibly) two
prophets In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
. The barrel vault of the chancel is unique. A total of 24 round medallions contain images of angels,
apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
and saints carrying
speech scroll In art history a speech scroll (also called a banderole or phylactery) is an illustrative device denoting speech, song, or other types of sound. Developed independently on two continents, the device was in use by artists within Mesoamerican cult ...
s with the text of the Christian hymn
Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chu ...
. There are six rows with four medallions in each. The background is a representation of heaven, a blue sky with golden stars. The medallions are framed by concentric circles similar to the
mandorla A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with '' vesica'', a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in tr ...
surrounding Christ in the apse, and the figures painted inside them have alternating rich or simple clothing. The pictorial programme of the chancel serves to emphasize liturgical elements from the Christian mass. On the wall of the chancel facing the apse there are the two donor portraits mentioned above, representing a king and a queen. Both are dressed in ornate
Byzantine dress Byzantine dress changed considerably over the thousand years of the Empire, but was essentially conservative. Popularly, Byzantine dress remained attached to its classical Greek roots with most changes and different styles being evidenced in the ...
. The paintings were once whitewashed. In 1854, the paintings in the apse were uncovered and an attempt to restore them was made. In 1963, work was begun to restore the murals. The three-year-long project was led by Våga Andersson-Lindell.


Furnishings

The
baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring) ...
of the church is a copy of the original, which was moved to the
Swedish History Museum The Swedish History Museum ( sv, Historiska museet or Statens historiska 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 ...
in Stockholm in 1867. The original font dates from sometime between 1175 and 1225 and is decorated with floral decorations and part of the text of the
Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
. On the north wall of the nave hangs a wooden cross, dated to 1400 on stylistic grounds. During the renovation of the building, a wooden
altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject 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 ...
from 1674 was moved from the chancel to the north aisle. The central panel of the altarpiece contains a depiction of the
Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...
, while the upper part contains the coat of arms of both County Governor and the
coat of arms of Sweden The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges riksvapen) has a greater and a lesser version. Regulated usage The usage of the coats of arms is regulated by Swedish Law, Actbr>1970:498 which states (in unofficial translation) tha ...
. As Sweden had conquered the province from Denmark in 1658, the installation of the altarpiece can be seen as a political statement. The wooden
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, access ...
dates from 1630. Its sides are decorated with sculptures depicting the Four Evangelists. The simple
altar An altar is a Table (furniture), table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of wo ...
is the fourth altar of the church and was made in 1966, together with a golden cross designed by goldsmith .


Use and heritage status

Vä Church belongs to the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Swed ...
. It is one of two churches in , a
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
within the
Diocese of Lund The Diocese of Lund ( sv, Lunds stift) is a diocese within the Church of Sweden which corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge and Skåne. There are 217 parishes within the diocese, the most significant number in any of the dioceses of the Chu ...
. The parish is part of , a group of three parishes and a total of five churches in the local area. Services are regularly held in the church, and it is open to visitors daily during summer. It is a
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{Authority control Romanesque architecture in Sweden Churches in Skåne County Churches in the Diocese of Lund Church frescos in Sweden