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St Kentigern's Church is a scheduled monument in Lanark, South Lanarkshire. It is believed that the church was founded by St Kentigern himself shortly before his death in 603 AD. There is documentary evidence of its existence, however, dating back to 1150 AD when King David I granted it to the monastery of Dryburgh. Pope Gregory VIII took the church into his own protection in 1228.
The architecture of the present church is 13th century and the site is known to have been occupied by a previous church. The church, which was once attended by William Wallace, is now in a state of disrepair, despite having had repair work completed recently.
The stone church of Gamla Uppsala, built over the pagan temple, dates from the early 12th century. Due to fire and renovations, the present church is only a remnant of the original cathedral.
Before the arrival of Christianity in Sweden, Gamla Uppsala was the seat of Swedish kings and a ceremonial site known all over northern Europe. The settlement was home to royal palaces, a royal burial ground, and a great pagan temple. The Uppsala temple, which was described in detail by Adam of Bremen in the 1070s, housed wooden statues of the Norse gods Odin, Thor and Freyr. A golden chain hung across its gables and the inside was richly decorated with gold. The temple had priests, who sacrificed to the gods according to the needs of the people.
The first Christian cathedral was probably built in the 11th century, but finished in the 12th century. The stone building may have been preceded by a wooden church and probably by the large pagan temple.