Details
Founded: 12th centuryCategory: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)
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Clau Poveda (6 years ago)
Gladsax Church was constructed in the Romanesque style during the 12th century. It was vaulted, and a church tower was added in the 15th century. In 1857, the existing choir was demolished, and instead, three transepts with a new three-sided choir were built. In 1883, the tower was renovated according to designs by Carl Möller.
The nave contains frescoes created by Nils Håkansson in the mid-15th century. However, the paintings in the center of the cross date from 1898 and were copied from the part of the nave closest to the tower. The State Historical Museum notes that the paintings are 'heavily restored, partly repainted; the paintings in the western vault were concealed by the organ and were, therefore, 'copied' in the choir vault - the detailed image of the Fall of Man and Eve receiving her spindle shows fragments from the original painting.'
The ruins of the medieval Gladsaxe Castle are located in a meadow just east of the church.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.