Vendel Church, Örbyhus, Sweden

The sacristy of Vendel Church was made of brick probably in the late 1200s and it is the oldest still existing part of the church. The current church building was completed around the year 1300. Arches were added in the 1450s and the church was enlarged in the 18th century.

Vende church is well-known of its mural paintings, dating back to the year 1451. They were painted by Johannes Ivan and donated by Agneta Krummedik from the near Örbyhus castle.

In 500-800 AD Vendel was a significant market and cultural centre. Archaelogists have found 14 so-called ship burials from the Vendel churchyard. Noblemen were buried there with their horses and equipments between 550-800 AD. Some foundings are displayed in the church's gate building. The historical era is named as a Vendel period after foundings in Vendel area.

References:

Marianne Mehling et al. Knaurs Kulturführer in Farbe. Schweden. München 1987.

User Reviews

Markku Maijala (2 years ago)
Amazingly beautiful church worth a visit.

Hans Bjorkman (2 years ago)
A very nice and beautiful church, both on the outside and inside. Looks so exciting with the bare brick and the beautiful medieval paintings in the church room. Today there was also a multimedia exhibition.

Anna Lantz (3 years ago)
So beautiful. Tyvärr kom vi när de stängde. Vi återkommer för ett längre besök.

Åsa Elmerfeldt (3 years ago)
So beautiful, both inside and out. Located on a hill with a view of Vendelsjön and both the site (Viking graves) and the church have a fantastic history. And the church's paintings tell a lot from the stories of the Bible and are very well preserved!

Margareta Holmgren (3 years ago)
Wonderful church considering that it is located so beautifully, it is worth seeing, was at a wedding and baptism there.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright discopalace

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Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.

Vendel Church

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