Drothem Church

Last updated March 25, 2019

Drothem Church (Swedish : Drothems kyrka) is a medieval Lutheran church in Söderköping, Sweden. The church dates back to the end of the 13th or the 14th century and is one of two surviving medieval churches in Söderköping, the other being St. Lawrence's Church (Sankt Laurentii kyrka). Both churches are associated with the Diocese of Linköping of the Church of Sweden. ^[1]^[2]

Swedish language North Germanic language spoken in Sweden

Swedish is a North Germanic language spoken natively by 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden, and in parts of Finland, where it has equal legal standing with Finnish. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and to some extent with Danish, although the degree of mutual intelligibility is largely dependent on the dialect and accent of the speaker. Both Norwegian and Danish are generally easier for Swedish speakers to read than to listen to because of difference in accent and tone when speaking. Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It has the most speakers of the North Germanic languages.

Söderköping Place in Östergötland, Sweden

Söderköping is a locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,992 inhabitants in 2010. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city. Statistics Sweden, however, only counts localities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as cities. Söderköping is about 15 km southeast of the city of Norrköping, the capital of Östergötland County.

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million of which 2.4 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi). The highest concentration is in the southern half of the country.

History

Interior view of the church with the altarpiece from 1512 DrothemAltarskap.jpg — Interior view of the church with the altarpiece from 1512

Drothem church is located on the outskirts of the medieval city centre of Söderköping, on land that once belonged to a nearby royal manor. In contrast to St. Lawrence's Church, Drothem church was referred to as the "peasant's church" and used as a parish church by the rural population rather than the strictly urban. The present church was probably preceded by a wooden church on approximately the same site. Remains of a Franciscan monastery have been excavated in the close vicinity of Drothem church, leading scholars to believe that the church started its history as part of the monastery, which in turn was founded on land donated from the royal manor nearby.^[3]^[4]

The first written records mentioning the church date from 1307, but construction of the church started sometime during the second half of the 13th century. The present-day vestry is the oldest part of the church. Later alterations have been plentiful, as the church has been damaged both by fire on several occasions, and also in war, during the Northern Seven Years' War when Danish troops under the command of Daniel Rantzau caused damage to the church. In 1586, the church was still in disrepair and the congregation pleaded to the king (John III of Sweden) to help funding the repairs.^[3]

A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England and Wales, which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially as the "vestry".

The Northern Seven Years' War was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and Poland between 1563 and 1570. The war was motivated by the dissatisfaction of King Frederick II of Denmark with the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, and the will of King Eric XIV of Sweden to break Denmark's dominating position. The fighting continued until both armies had been exhausted, and many men died. The resulting Treaty of Stettin was a stalemate, with neither party gaining any new territory.

Daniel Rantzau was a Danish-German general. He was known for his leadership during the Northern Seven Years' War. For some years, he fought in Germany and Italy, and also took part in the Danish conquest of Dithmarschen in western Holstein during 1559. Rantzau also seems to have been a clear pro-war spokesman before the outbreak of the Northern Seven Years' War with Sweden in 1563.

Architecture

The church is built of stone with some details made of brick, and whitewashed. Both the west and the east façades are decorated with blind arches and crow-stepped gables. Heavy buttresses support the building. The roof is made of shingle. The church has an external belfry.^[3]

Brick Block or a single unit of a ceramic material used in masonry construction

A brick is building material used to make walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Traditionally, the term brick referred to a unit composed of clay, but it is now used to denote any rectangular units laid in mortar. A brick can be composed of clay-bearing soil, sand, and lime, or concrete materials. Bricks are produced in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region and time period, and are produced in bulk quantities. Two basic categories of bricks are fired and non-fired bricks.

Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)₂) and chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO₃), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used.

A blind arch is an arch found in the wall of a building that has been infilled with solid construction and so cannot serve as a passageway, door or window. The term is most often associated with masonry wall construction, but blind arches are also found in other types of construction such as light frame construction. Some blind arches were originally built as open arches and infilled later. Others were originally built with solid infill as intentional stylistic elements.

Inside, the church is divided into a nave and two aisles by two rows of pillars, carrying Gothic vaults. The altarpiece is in the form of a triptych from Germany. According to a note written in medieval German and found in the altar, it was made in 1512 by a craftsman called Vlögel. The baptismal font is from the 13th century. Other noteworthy interior details include the pulpit and canopy from 1704 and an altar painting from the 17th century, originally forming part of an epitaph.^[3]

The nave is the central part of a church, stretching from the main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type building, the strict definition of the term "nave" is restricted to the central aisle. In a broader, more colloquial sense, the nave includes all areas available for the lay worshippers, including the side-aisles and transepts. Either way, the nave is distinct from the area reserved for the choir and clergy.

An aisle is, in general (common), a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other. Aisles can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments and legislatures, courtrooms, theatres, and in certain types of passenger vehicles. Their floors may be flat or, as in theatres, stepped upwards from a stage.

Gothic architecture is a style that flourished in Europe during the High and Late Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. Originating in 12th-century France, it was widely used, especially for cathedrals and churches, until the 16th century.

Gallery

Organ
Pulpit canopy
Detail of triptych
Ceiling vault

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References

↑ "Drothems Kyrka". kringla.nu. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
↑ "S:t Laurentii kyrka". svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
1 2 3 4 Östergötlands Länsmuseum (2006). Kulturhistorisk inventering av kyrkobyggnader och kyrkomiljöer i Linköpings stift 2006 - Drothems Kyrka (PDF) (in Swedish). Östergötlands Museum.
↑ "Drothems kyrka". svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

External links

Media related to Drothem Church, Söderköping at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 58°28′51″N16°18′57″E / 58.48083°N 16.31583°E / 58.48083; 16.31583

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[1] "Drothems Kyrka". kringla.nu. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

[2] "S:t Laurentii kyrka". svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

[Drothems_Kyrka-3] 1 2 3 4 Östergötlands Länsmuseum (2006). Kulturhistorisk inventering av kyrkobyggnader och kyrkomiljöer i Linköpings stift 2006 - Drothems Kyrka (PDF) (in Swedish). Östergötlands Museum.

[4] "Drothems kyrka". svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved January 1, 2019.