Hellvi Church

Hellvi, Sweden

The choir portal of Hellvi Church carries a runic inscription which proclaims that a man called Lafrans Botvidarson built the church. The oldest part of the church is the tower, Romanesque in style. The upper part of the tower collapsed following a storm in 1534, hence its unusual shape. The nave and choir date from the middle of the 13th century and display an early form of Gothic style. The nave consists of two aisles, divided by two central columns. The choir is square in form and the church lacks an apse; the straight eastern wall has a group of three Gothic windows.

The altarpiece bears the initials of the Swedish king Charles XII and the date 1726. The pulpit is older, from 1633. A gallery that today is placed in the north-western corner of the interior was built in 1704 and paid for by 16 skippers from Sønderborg in Denmark; a testimony to intense maritime contacts. It is decorated with pictures of the apostles, Christ and two saints. The baptismal font is from the 17th century but with a copper dish from 1704; the latter also a gift by a Sønderborg skipper.

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Address

710, Hellvi, Sweden
See all sites in Hellvi

Details

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

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Monica Eklund (21 months ago)
Vacker, medeltida kyrkobyggnad med fin kyrkogård.
Ulf Palm (2 years ago)
Vacker kyrka
Nikolaj Antonov (2 years ago)
The church was built of stone early in the Middle Ages and consists of a two-storey long house, a narrower straight-ended choir to the east, the western tower and sakristia on the north side of the choir. The Romanesque tower is the oldest, while the long house and the choir were built around the middle of the 13th century. Visit this landmark and explore medieval religious art in Sweden.
Karl Högvall (2 years ago)
En trevlig fin kyrka
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