Stånga Church
Stånga Church
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Stånga Church

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Stånga Church

Stånga Church (Swedish: Stånga kyrka) is a medieval church in Stånga on the Swedish island of Gotland. The site of the church has probably been considered sacred since before the Christianization of Scandinavia.

The oldest parts of the current stone church date from the first half of the 13th century when an earlier wooden church was replaced. The building was substantially altered during the 14th century with the construction of a new nave. Most likely, the intent was to rebuild the entire edifice, but this did not occur for unknown reasons. A group of large Gothic sculptures, currently immured next to the south portal of the church, was possibly intended for a new tower that was never built. These sculptures are among the most unusual Gothic works of art in Sweden.

In the 19th century, when the chancel and the apse of the church had to be replaced due to structural damage, the congregation chose to rebuild them as similar as possible to the medieval building. The church belongs to the Church of Sweden and lies in the Diocese of Visby.

Stånga Church lies in the middle of the old cemetery, which is surrounded by a wall. Two medieval lychgates probably served as entrances from the south and east until the 1860s when they appear to have been demolished. In 1924 an additional, larger cemetery was inaugurated north of the old cemetery. Several archaeological findings in the vicinity of the church, notably clothing objects from the 11th and early 12th centuries such as buckles, buttons and jewellery chains, indicate that the location was already being used as a burial ground prior to the construction of the church. Probably it was a pagan sacred site before the Christianization of Scandinavia.

Archaeological excavations show that a wooden church was built on the site toward the beginning of the 12th century, possibly even earlier. The wooden church was replaced with a stone church, Romanesque in style, during the first half of the 13th century. This first stone church consisted of a nave and a chancel with an apse. In the middle of the same century, construction started on the present tower which probably replaced an earlier, smaller tower.

In the middle of the 14th century, the nave was demolished to make way for a new and larger Gothic nave. It was constructed by a workshop, known by its notname as Egypticus [sv], that worked on several churches on Gotland. At the same time that the nave was enlarged, the tower was also heightened. This reconstruction scheme appears to have been interrupted for some unknown reason. Several details indicate that ad hoc-solutions, not originally intended, were implemented to finish the work. Most obvious of these is the set of monumental Gothic limestone sculptures immured next to the nave portal in the south wall. These were clearly not intended for their current position. There are also gargoyles, now damaged, immured on each side of the chancel portal. Almost identical gargoyles exist in the churches of Dalhem, Gothem and Öja, where they are placed in the tower. Probably the gargoyles were intended for the tower also in Stånga. Furthermore, the entire nave appears to have been wedged in between the chancel and the tower, implying that a much larger nave was originally planned. It has consequently been suggested that the plans for the rebuilding of the church were originally much more ambitious and that the idea was to replace not only the Romanesque nave but also the chancel and possibly the tower. This would have amounted to the building of an entirely new, much larger Gothic church. The monumental sculptures which now are immured next to the main portal may have been intended for some other part of the projected church. But since the work had to be cancelled, they were simply placed where they could fit in. They may also have been intended for a completely different church, perhaps Källunge Church, on Gotland.

Between 1864 and 1865, the choir and apse were also rebuilt, since they were at risk of collapsing due to structural damage. The congregation chose to rebuild them as closely as possible to their original form, while the old sacristy, north of the chancel, was built to new designs. Therefore only fragments of the Romanesque church remain visible. Apart from the extensive repairs carried out in the 1860s, the church has been renovated and repaired on several occasions. A major renovation was undertaken in 1929–30, led by the architect Erik Fant [sv]. In connection with this, archaeological research was conducted on the church. Another large renovation was undertaken 1962–63, this time led by the architect Olle Karth [sv], in order to repair and renew the church. Among other things, the entire exterior was whitewashed anew.

The main construction material of Stånga Church is grey limestone with more finely hewn limestone of differing shades as well as sandstone used in some details. Apart from the sculpted elements, the corners and the base of the church, the whole facade is whitewashed. The nave, like many Gotlandic churches, lacks windows facing north. The three windows of the apse and the one in the chancel are round-arched, while the nave has a single, Gothic pointed-arch window, with tracery, that is divided in two by a central limestone post. The tower likewise has a single Gothic window facing south, dating from the re-building during the 14th century. Medieval stained glass almost certainly decorated all the windows of the church originally, but no traces of it survive today.

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