Markim Church

Last updated April 23, 2019

Markim Church (Swedish : Markims kyrka) is a medieval Lutheran church in the Diocese of Stockholm in Stockholm County, Sweden. The church is a listed building, located in a designated area of national cultural interest.^[1]

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.

The Diocese of Stockholm is a division of the Church of Sweden. Its cathedral is Storkyrkan in Stockholm's Old Town. The diocese covers most of metropolitan Stockholm and was formed in 1942 from parts of the medieval dioceses of Strängnäs and Uppsala, both pre-dating the foundation of Stockholm. Before 1942, the City of Stockholm itself and Greater Stockholm were divided more or less equally between the two medieval dioceses at Slussen just south of Stockholm's Old Town.

Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland (Roslagen) and Södermanland (Södertörn). More than one fifth of the Swedish population lives in the county. Stockholm County is also one of the statistical riksområden according to NUTS:SE, Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics within the EU. With more than two million inhabitants, Stockholm is the most densely populated county of Sweden.

History

Markim is mentioned in written sources for the first time in 1287, but both etymological and archaeological evidence suggest that the cultural landscape surrounding the church is considerably older.^[2] The landscape had ancient traditions already during the Middle Ages, when the church was built.^[3] The church is situated on a small hill were an earlier, pagan sacrificial well was located.^[1] The area is rich in rune stones.^[4]

Etymology is the study of the history of words. By extension, the term "the etymology " means the origin of the particular word and for place names, there is a specific term, toponymy.

Landscape archaeology is the study of the ways in which people in the past constructed and used the environment around them. Landscape archaeology is inherently multidisciplinary in its approach to the study of culture, and is used by pre-historical, classic, and historic archaeologists. The key feature that distinguishes landscape archaeology from other archaeological approaches to sites is that there is an explicit emphasis on the sites' relationships between material culture, human alteration of land/cultural modifications to landscape, and the natural environment. The study of landscape archaeology has evolved to include how landscapes were used to create and reinforce social inequality and to announce one's social status to the community at large.

A cultural landscape, as defined by the World Heritage Committee, is the "cultural properties [that] represent the combined works of nature and of man".

"a landscape designed and created intentionally by man"
an "organically evolved landscape" which may be a "relict landscape" or a "continuing landscape"
an "associative cultural landscape" which may be valued because of the "religious, artistic or cultural associations of the natural element."

The church was built during the early 13th century; dendrochronological evidence point to that the roof was laid in about 1213.^[3] It remains a largely unaltered Romanesque building. It belongs to the "first generation" of church building in Sweden.^[1] A church porch was added during the 15th century, and during the same time the ceiling was vaulted.^[3] The external bell tower was built in wood in 1727. The windows of the church were also enlarged during the 18th century, and a round window in the apse inserted during the early 19th century. The tin roof is similarly from the 19th century.^[1]

Dendrochronology is the scientific method of dating tree rings to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmospheric conditions during different periods in history from wood.

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later date being the most commonly held. In the 12th century it developed into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches. Examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture.

A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way.

Architecture

Externally, the church retains much of its Romanesque appearance. Although painted yellow today, originally the roughly hewn stones of which the church was built were exposed.^[1] The original church door still remains. It dates from the 12th century and so is older than the church itself. Made of oak, it is decorated with metal hoops in different forms and shapes.^[3] The exterior of the church gives a good idea of what early Romanesque churches in the Nordic countries often looked like.^[4] It is also one of few early medieval churches in Uppland which has retained its original floor plan.^[1]

The Nordic countries or the Nordics are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic, where they are most commonly known as Norden. The term includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as Greenland and the Faroe Islands—which are both part of the Kingdom of Denmark—and the Åland Islands and Svalbard and Jan Mayen archipelagos that belong to Finland and Norway respectively, whereas the Norwegian Antarctic territories are often not considered a part of the Nordic countries, due to their geographical location. Scandinavians, who comprise over three quarters of the region's population, are the largest group, followed by Finns, who comprise the majority in Finland; other groups are indigenous minorities such as the Greenlandic Inuit and the Sami people, and recent immigrants and their descendants. The native languages Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese are all North Germanic languages rooted in Old Norse. Native non-Germanic languages are Finnish, Greenlandic and several Sami languages. The main religion is Lutheran Christianity. The Nordic countries have much in common in their way of life, history, religion, their use of Scandinavian languages and social structure. The Nordic countries have a long history of political unions and other close relations, but do not form a separate entity today. The Scandinavist movement sought to unite Denmark, Norway and Sweden into one country in the 19th century, with the indepedence of Finland in the early 20th century, and Iceland in the mid 20th century, this movement expanded into the modern organised Nordic cooperation which includes the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers. Especially in English, Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym for the Nordic countries, but that term more properly refers to the three monarchies of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Geologically, the Scandinavian Peninsula comprises the mainland of Norway and Sweden as well as the northernmost part of Finland.

Inside, the church is whitewashed except for the church porch, where fragments of medieval frescos have been found and are now again displayed.^[1] Of the church furnishings, only the triumphal cross is medieval.^[1] It is of a type more commonly found on Gotland than in Uppland, and dates from the second half of the 13th century.^[1] The altar and pulpit, dominating the apse, are a work by the carpenter Magnus Granlund (1711-1779) from Stockholm, and Rococo in style. Granlund worked on several churches in Uppland.^[1] The organ facade is from the 1820s and in a provincial Empire style, while the organ itself was replaced in 1985.^[1] The baptismal font is a modern work, presented to the church in 1972.^[4]

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.

Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall. The word fresco is derived from the Italian adjective fresco meaning "fresh", and may thus be contrasted with fresco-secco or secco mural painting techniques, which are applied to dried plaster, to supplement painting in fresco. The fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting.

Gotland is a province, county, municipality, and diocese of Sweden. It is Sweden's largest island. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the north, as well as the Karlsö Islands to the west. The population is 58,595, of which about 23,600 live in Visby, the main town. The island of Gotland and the other areas of the province of Gotland make up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area.

The church has never had a tower but instead an external belfry. The presently visible bellfry replaced an earlier of unknown age.^[4] It carries two church bells, one medieval and one made in 1727.^[1]

A church bell in the Christian tradition is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of ceremonial purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they were used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and to announce times of daily prayer, called the canonical hours. They are also rung on special occasions such as a wedding, or a funeral service. In some religious traditions they are used within the liturgy of the church service to signify to people that a particular part of the service has been reached. The ringing of church bells, in the Christian tradition, was also believed to drive out demons.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sundström, Lisa (2004). Markims kyrka (pdf) (in Swedish). Stockholms stift (Diocese of Stockholm). Retrieved 1 September 2013.
↑ "Mer om socknen - Vallentuna kommun" (in Swedish). Vallentuna Municipality. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
1 2 3 4 Qviström, Linda; Anund, Johan (2012). Det Medeltida Uppland. En arkeologisk guidebok (in Swedish). Lund: Historiska Media. pp. 153–155. ISBN 978-91-85873-74-6.
1 2 3 4 "Markims kyrkas historia" (in Swedish). Vallentuna Parish. Retrieved 1 September 2013.

External links

Official site (in Swedish)
Media related to Markim Church at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 59°36′19″N18°03′00″E / 59.60528°N 18.05000°E / 59.60528; 18.05000

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[kyrkanbroschyr-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sundström, Lisa (2004). Markims kyrka (pdf) (in Swedish). Stockholms stift (Diocese of Stockholm). Retrieved 1 September 2013.

[vallentuna-2] "Mer om socknen - Vallentuna kommun" (in Swedish). Vallentuna Municipality. Retrieved 1 September 2013.

[DMU-3] 1 2 3 4 Qviström, Linda; Anund, Johan (2012). Det Medeltida Uppland. En arkeologisk guidebok (in Swedish). Lund: Historiska Media. pp. 153–155. ISBN 978-91-85873-74-6.

[församling-4] 1 2 3 4 "Markims kyrkas historia" (in Swedish). Vallentuna Parish. Retrieved 1 September 2013.