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Founded: 1620Category: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: Swedish Empire (Sweden)
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The church of Olshammar is named after Saint Bridget of Sweden (Birgitta), whose husband, Ulf Gudmarsson, owned Olshammar in the 1320s. Olshammar was then a major estate and brickworks. According to tradition, Birgitta built a chapel where today the church is situated. The church was built in 1620 by Eric Hand, a grandchild of king Erik XIV.
The glass paintings in the form of coat of arms and manufactured in Riga, depicts Eric Hand and his brother-in-arms during the Thirty Years' War. These paintings are very well kept.
The church was restored in 1785 by a German mill owner, Carl von Wahrendorff. The church then got its present look with alter and pulpit built into one unit. This is very unusual in Swedish churches. Wahrendorff furnished the church with several fine ornaments, three grisaille paintings by the Dutch painter Jacob de Wit, a silver chandelier, silver for the Holy Communion etc. Carl von Wahrendorff was a prominent mill owner and did a lot of good for the community, some of which is still visible.
In the beginning of the 19th century Carl Rüttersköld became owner of Olshammar. He was Verner von Heidenstam's grandfather. The church belonged to the estate and when Verner von Heidenstam during the summers stayed at the estate, he used the church as his playground. He made up his own fairyland "Lajsputta" and carved "the centre of the earth" into a brick in front of the alter rails.
The church was built as a mill church and was privately owned until 1982. Today it belongs to the parish of Hammar. Regular church services are held once per month and at main Holidays.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.