St. Olaf's Church

Sankt Olof, Sweden

The church of St. Olaf was built in the 1200s, but it was enlarged in 1400s. The major restoration was made in 1870s by Helgo Zettervall. The church and the locality is named after the Norwegian Saint Olaf due there is a so-called St. Olaf's Well near the church. It was a famous pilgrimage site in past centuries.

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Address

Byvägen 50, Sankt Olof, Sweden
See all sites in Sankt Olof

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Kronovall Castle (4,7 km)


St. Mary's Church (29,8 km)
Ale's Stones (28,4 km)
Trinity Church (44,2 km)
Ystad Abbey (29,6 km)
Hovdala Castle (58,1 km)
St. Nicholas' Church (16,7 km)
Glimmingehus (16,4 km)
Bäckaskog Castle (52 km)
Saint Nicholas' Church (54,7 km)

User Reviews

Elisabet Blomdahl (3 months ago)
Interesting exterior architecture. Near St. Olof's spring.
Joakim Sandström (5 months ago)
Lovely church and received a nice reception after my pilgrimage
Andreas Björklind (6 months ago)
Very beautiful church that I got to experience thanks to the wedding of an even more beautiful bride and groom!
Emilia Wadenbäck (Emilia W) (7 months ago)
Church of historical value and part of the pilgrimage path. Open 12-16 every day. Walk around and admire the architecture and the beautiful ceilings. For those who want to take a mini-hike, St. Olofs fountain and the Virgin fountain nearby, about 300 and 1300 meters respectively. Toilets are available at the church.
Evert Stridsberg (2 years ago)
Fantastisk vacker kyrka med en mycket välkött kyrkogård
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Glimmingehus, is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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