Knislinge Church () is a medieval church in Knislinge,

Östra Göinge Municipality Östra Göinge Municipality () is a municipality in Scania County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in Broby. The present municipality was formed in 1974 when the former municipalities of ''Broby'', ''Glimåkra'', ''Hjärsås'' and ''Knis ...

, 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. The church contains several medieval murals as well as a sculpted, Romanesque baptismal font.

History

The church was built in the 1190s and originally consisted of a

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 ...

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 ...

and

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. Several alterations were made to the church already 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 ...

. A wide, western tower was built during the 13th century but later reduced in height and transformed into a western expansion of the nave; a new tower was built on the south side of the church in the late Middle Ages. During the 15th century, 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 ...

was also built and the original ceiling of the church replaced with the presently visible vaults. Further, less substantial alterations were made during the 18th century, and in 1803 the medieval apse was replaced with the present, pentagonal apse which contains the

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 ...

. The original entrances were walled up in 1843 and a new, western entrance constructed. A western church porch was placed in front of the entrance in 1901.

Murals

The church contains fragments of murals from the earliest building period of the church, concealed above the vaults, as well as on the underside of the arch separating the choir from the nave. The latter are Romanesque in style and depict the

Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...

flanked by two bishops trampling dragons. Most of the murals of the church however date from 1460 to 1461 and were made soon after the vaults which they decorate. They were covered with

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis 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 ...

in the 1720s but were restored in 1924. They were possibly made by

Nils Håkansson Nils Håkansson (Latinisation (literature), Latinized as Nicolaus Haquini) was a late medieval Swedish painter from Vadstena. Biography Håkansson, known as ''Vittskövlewikt:mästare#Swedish, mästaren,'' may have been the leader of a group of ...

. They depict religious themes, e.g.

Saint George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a huma ...

and

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

, but also profane subjects.

Furnishings

The church retains its original

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 ...

, a decorated Romanesque font made of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. Its basin is roughly octacongal, decorated with eight scenes from the childhood of Christ. The foot is also decorated with two lion heads and one human head. Notable is also 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, ...

a work from the late 16th century, possibly from the workshop of Daniel Tommisen in

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 ...

. 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 ...

is from 1747, made by sculptor Johan Ullberg and considered one of his finest works.

References

External links

* {{Churches in Scania Churches in Skåne County Churches in the Diocese of Lund Church frescos in Sweden Östra Göinge Municipality