Anga Church, Gotland
| Anga Church | |
|---|---|
Anga kyrka | |
 Anga Church, view of the exterior | |
  Anga Church Location on Gotland | |
| 57°28′49″N 18°42′23″E / 57.48033°N 18.70642°E | |
| Country | Sweden |
| Denomination | Church of Sweden |
| Previous denomination | Catholic |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Visby |
Anga Church (Swedish: Anga kyrka) is a 13th century church in Anga on the Swedish island of Gotland. It is one of the most well-preserved Romanesque churches on Gotland, and was possibly preceded by a stave church. Inside, the church is decorated with medieval murals from three different periods, as well as some medieval furnishings. Some wooden sculptures from the church are today exhibited in a museum in Visby. The church belongs to the Church of Sweden and lies within the Diocese of Visby.
History and architecture
Anga Church takes its name from a now vanished farmstead, mentioned in a runestone inscription at the end of the 11th century. The first church was probably built as a church for the large farm. During archaeological excavations carried out in 1946–1947, traces of burnt wood were found, indicating that the first church may have been a stave church.[1]
The presently visible
The church is one of the most well-preserved Romanesque churches on Gotland, and gives a good impression of how most of the churches on the island might once have looked. The interior still has a rich decoration in the form of murals. The wall paintings date from two periods, the oldest ones from the end of the 13th century. These are mostly ornamental, and unusual in that they are signed by the artist, a painter named Halvard. From the same time dates a runic inscription in Old Gutnish, which tells the name of the farmers of the parish who contributed oxen and day's works to the construction of the church, showing that the building of the church was a communal undertaking. A later set of murals depict the
The church used to house medieval wooden sculptures, the majority of which are today at the Museum of Gotland in
The church belongs to the Church of Sweden and lies within the Diocese of Visby.[3]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-91-85873-83-8.
- ^ ISBN 9129410355.
- ^ "Våra kyrkor" (in Swedish). Diocese of Visby (Church of Sweden). Retrieved 24 January 2020.
Further reading
- Roosval, Johnny; Lagerlöf, Erland (1959). Anga kyrka (PDF) (Summary in English). Sveriges kyrkor, konsthistoriskt inventarium (in Swedish). Vol. IV, 4. Stockholm: Generalstabens Litografiska Anstalts Förlag. pp. 530–592. ISSN 0284-1894. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
External links
Media related to Anga kyrka at Wikimedia Commons- Official site (in Swedish)
