Details
Founded: ca. 1200Category: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)
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The construction of defensive tower, the oldest part of Hulterstad Church, was completed around the year 1200. There are also some remains of older building from the early 1100’s below the ground. In 1803 the church was reconstructed to the present, single-nave and rectangular shape.
The interior originates from several centuries. Oldest artefacts are the baptismal font and the painted consecration cross from Middle Ages. Mural paintings in arches were painted in the 1600s. The large bell was made in 1631 by Jurgen Putensen. The organs date from 1867, designed by L. Hedin. In 1676 the royal warship wrecked outside Hulterstad and a most of the crew were buried in the cemetery.
There is a small museum in one of the tower's floors including some runestones. Some stones have been found under the tower's ground floor.
References:The Externsteine (Extern stones) is a distinctive sandstone rock formation located in the Teutoburg Forest, near the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. Archaeological excavations have yielded some Upper Paleolithic stone tools dating to about 10,700 BC from 9,600 BC.
In a popular tradition going back to an idea proposed to Hermann Hamelmann in 1564, the Externsteine are identified as a sacred site of the pagan Saxons, and the location of the Irminsul (sacral pillar-like object in German paganism) idol reportedly destroyed by Charlemagne; there is however no archaeological evidence that would confirm the site's use during the relevant period.
The stones were used as the site of a hermitage in the Middle Ages, and by at least the high medieval period were the site of a Christian chapel. The Externsteine relief is a medieval depiction of the Descent from the Cross. It remains controversial whether the site was already used for Christian worship in the 8th to early 10th centuries.
The Externsteine gained prominence when Völkisch and nationalistic scholars took an interest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This interest peaked under the Nazi regime, when the Externsteine became a focus of nazi propaganda. Today, they remain a popular tourist destination and also continue to attract Neo-Pagans and Neo-Nazis.
