Västra Ingelstad Church () is a medieval church in

Västra Ingelstad Västra Ingelstad is a locality situated in Vellinge 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 No ...

, 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. It is the burial place of Danish-Norwegian statesman

Henrich Krummedige Henrich Krummedige ( 1530) was a Denmark-Norway, Danish-Norwegian nobleman and a member of both the Norwegian and Danish National Councils (Rigsraadet, ''Rigsråd'') and played an extensive role in the politics of the era. He served as commanding ...

and contains a richly decorated altarpiece from Antwerp, unparalleled in the province of Skåne.

History

The first church to be built where the presently visible church stands was probably a

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ...

. During the 12th century, it was replaced by the presently visible stone church. The church has been successively enlarged and rebuilt since then, and today only a single Romanesque window and parts of the northern wall of the

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 ...

remain from the earliest church. The

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 ...

in front of the southern entrance was built during the 14th century, and the interior vaults date from 1450-1475. In the 1520s the church was enlarged towards the west. At the same time a burial chamber was installed for the Krummedige family, owner of nearby Månstorp Gables. The Danish-Norwegian statesman

is buried in the burial chamber. The

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

gable adorning the western facade of the church was constructed in 1593. The western entrance was made considerably later, in 1832, and the church tower added as late as 1855 and renovated already in 1894.

Furnishings

The church contains a large and richly decorated

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, ...

made in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

1520. There are no other similar pieces in the province of Skåne. The central part consists of deep sections with an abundance of sculpted scenes, depicting the suffering of Christ. The six wings have painted depictions of the

Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

and six saints. It has been suggested that such a valuable altarpiece perhaps originally was made for a richer church in nearby

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, possibly Sankt Petri, but it is also possible that the altarpiece was made for Västra Ingelstad Church and installed in the church during the reconstruction of the church in the 1520s. The other furnishings of the church are from after 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 ...

. 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 ...

was made in the 1620s and altered in 1742. The pews are from the 18th century, and 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 ...

was made in 1967.

References

External links

* {{Churches in Scania Churches in Skåne County Churches in the Diocese of Lund Vellinge Municipality