Barkåkra Church () is a church in ,

Ängelholm Municipality Ängelholm Municipality () is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Scania County in South Sweden in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the city Ängelholm. In 1971 the ''City of Ängelholm'' was amalgamated with the rural municipalit ...

in the Swedish province

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 ...

(Scania). One of the oldest churches in the area, it dates from the 12th century but has been heavily rebuilt, partially during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and partially during the 19th and 20th centuries.

History

The church was built at the end of the 12th century, and is one of the oldest churches in the area. It was possibly built on a pre-Christian sacred site. Because the church has been successively rebuilt during the centuries, today only some of the walls 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 ...

are preserved from this first building period. The church was enlarged during the 14th century, and at the same time the church tower was built and a

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 ...

built in front of the northern entrance. During the 15th century the interior was rebuilt as the church ceiling replaced with the currently visible vaults. Somewhat later during the same century another church porch was built in front of the southern entrance. Substantive reconstruction was also done during the 19th century. A 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 ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

was built in 1802, and a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

in 1826. The medieval southern church porch was demolished in 1861, and during a renovation in 1924–25 the sacristy was also demolished. During the same renovation, fragments of medieval murals were discovered in the church. The

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows were installed in the 1960s and 70s, and designed by and .

Furnishings

The oldest item in the church is 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 ...

, which probably dates from the construction of the church. It's comparable in style to baptismal fonts from the same time found on

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. 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 ...

of the church dates from the 17th century and has wooden

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s depicting the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

. The

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, ...

is from 1737 and made by an artisan from

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

; its central piece is an

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

showing 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, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

, flanked by carved wooden columns and statuettes of Moses and Jesus. The pews are largely from 1754. A later addition is the

triumphal cross A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...

, made in 1940. The church also contains a plaque in memory of 31 people who died in an aircraft accident nearby in 1964.

References

External links

*
Official site (in Swedish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkakra Church Churches in Skåne County Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden Churches in the Diocese of Lund Ängelholm Municipality