Kategori: Church

  • The Skärkindstone

    The Skärkindstone

    En svensk version av texten finns nedanför den engelska. English: The Skärkindstone At Skärkind Old Church in Östergötland County, Sweden two runestones stand, one more unusual than the other. Skärkind Old Church dates back to the 12th century and was originally built of limestone. The church is now a chapel and contains some notable artifacts.…

  • The Hälsingtuna Stone

    The Hälsingtuna Stone

    A Swedish version of the text can be found below. Approximately five kilometers northwest of the city Hudiksvall in Hälsingland, Sweden lies Hälsingtuna Church. The site appears to have been important early on, especially due to the runestones that are found in the churchyard. Outside the church runs the road that once led to the…

  • Forshem Church

    Forshem Church

    Swedish translation below. This spring, I visited Forshem Church, about four kilometers east of Hällekis in Västergötland, Sweden. This is not my first visit to this unique medieval church, built in 1135 from sandstone. The church has been dated through dendrochronological studies of the roof trusses, which visitors can examine inside the church where they…

  • The Blomskog Portal

    The Blomskog Portal

    A Swedish language version can be found below. In today’s post, I would like to write about the Blomskog portal. This is a partially preserved portal from a stave church. The stave church once stood in Blomskog, not far from Årjäng in Värmland, Sweden. Unfortunately, the stave church no longer exists. The portal was discovered…

  • The Painted Runestones in Köpingsvik

    The Painted Runestones in Köpingsvik

    During my last visit to the island of Öland along Swedish east coast in the Baltic Sea I decided to visit the collection of runestones and fragments housed in Köping Church. Köpingsvik during the Viking Age was one of the most important marketplaces in this part of the Baltic Sea. This is obvious from the…

  • Mussla Church Ruin

    Mussla Church Ruin

    I am by nature a person that dislikes to intrude on people. It’s probably not just me but a national trait among Swedes to keep our distance to each other. That’s probably why I sometimes feel rather uncomfortable when I want to approach an ancient monument that is located very close to someone’s house. A…

  • Levene Church and The Levene Rune Stone

    Levene Church and The Levene Rune Stone

    The charming church of Levene is located just outside of the village Stora Levene in the province of Västergötland, Sweden. One tradition says that the church was founded by the Swedish king Håkan Röde (Håkan the Red) who was king of Sweden between 1070 and 1079. This is noted in Västgötalagens Regentlängd (The West Gothland…

  • Gudhem Abbey

    Gudhem Abbey

    Gudhem is probably best known for its appearance in the Swedish historical novels The Crusades Trilogy and movie trilogy Arn The Knight’s Templar based on these books. The love interest of the main character Arn, Cecilia Algotsdotter also known as Cicilia Rosa spends 20 years in this abbey as punishment for having relations outside of…

  • Rådene Deserted Church Site and Ranes Rune stone

    Rådene Deserted Church Site and Ranes Rune stone

    It was a windy and cold day when I traveled through the village of Rådene in Västergötland, Sweden. I decided to stop at the deserted church site there that I had observed on previous trips trough the area. People on the countryside tends to observe you if you drive by or stop when you drive…

  • Jelling

    Jelling

    Jelling is mostly famous for the rune stone with the same name, the Jelling stone. But this place is more than just a stone, it is in some ways the place where the kingdom of Denmark was born. Jelling is located on central Jutland, in Denmark and the site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.…