Viksta Church

Uppsala, Sweden

Viksta Church is a medieval church located north of Uppsala. Viksta Church was built circa 1280. An earlier, probably wooden roof and ceiling was replaced by the present roof supported by vaults sometime between 1430 and 1460. The frescos which decorate the vaults were painted in 1503. The church still largely retains its medieval appearance; the biggest change made after the Reformation was an enlargement of the windows carried out in 1761. The eastern (choir) wall still has the original medieval windows. On the same wall are some unusually well-made gable decorations made with brick. The external, wooden belfry was built in 1744-45 while the cemetery wall still contains two medieval lychgates.

The church contains a number of medieval art objects. The wooden triumphal cross is medieval, and so is a gilded copper processional cross (14th century). Another precious item is a chalice from the early 16th century. In the choir stands two wooden sculptures from the Middle Ages depicting female saints, one of which has been identified as Bridget of Sweden.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Viksta, Uppsala, Sweden
See all sites in Uppsala

Details

Founded: c. 1280
Category: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Björn Nilsson (2 years ago)
Good choice when to walk on….
Eric A.L. Axner (4 years ago)
An easily likeable church, just the right size for it’s location, and it and the cemetery are well looked after and possess a calm atmosphere.
elvira (5 years ago)
Such a nice church! Love that building.
Jari Ahonen (5 years ago)
An old and beautiful church
Yulia Andersen (7 years ago)
Very bad road for road biking. Nothing to do with the church itself though
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Clementinum

The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.