Ytterlännäs Old Church: A Medieval Romanesque Church in Sweden

Site at a Glance

Rating

★4.7

Popularity

Very Low

Country

Sweden

Primary era

Medieval

External website

Open ↗

Eras represented

Medieval, Early Modern

Civilizations

Swedish

Site type

Religious

Remains

Fortified Church

History

Ytterlännäs old church is a 13th-century Romanesque stone church in Sweden, built by the medieval Christian community in Ytterlännäs parish. It stands in present-day Kramfors Municipality, Västernorrland County, between Nyland and Bollstabruk near the Ångerman River. During the Middle Ages, the parish belonged to the Archdiocese of Uppsala, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction governing the area at that time. Since 1647, it has belonged to the Diocese of Härnösand.

Origins and medieval development

Archaeological finds in the surrounding area indicate that Christianity had reached the region around AD 1000. The stone church may have replaced an earlier wooden building. A local tradition, recorded in varying forms around 1875, held that five or six local farmers joined together to build the stone church. Its first written mention dates from 1314, when the congregation was asked to contribute to a crusade.

A donation document from 1390 names Skiälbodhe Fardiäkesson, who requested that two commemorative masses be held each year for himself and his relatives in return for his gift. The document identifies Saint George as the church’s patron saint at that time. During the 15th century, the building underwent a substantial enlargement and remodelling. The choir was widened, the ceiling was raised and covered with brick vaults, the windows were enlarged, and a vestry and covered entrance porch, known as a weapon-house, were added. Such an entrance building was associated with the church’s possible use as a defended refuge during attacks.

Late in the 15th century, much of the interior was painted with frescoes. The artist was anonymous but is associated with the Tierp school, a medieval tradition of church painting from Uppland. The painter is now called the Alphabet Master. An inscription once read by art historian J. Henrik Cornell as the words “painted by Eghil” was later interpreted by Einar Bager as the opening sequence of the alphabet rather than a signature.

Reformation-era and early modern changes

The altar cabinet known as the Ytterlännäs Madonna is associated with the workshop of Haaken Gulleson, a late-medieval Swedish woodcarver from Hälsingland. Its heraldry connects the church with the Uppsala archdiocese and with Archbishop Jakob Ulfsson, whose personal arms appear as an eagle’s claw. The cabinet probably commemorates the archbishop’s visit to the church in 1507.

During the 17th century, the congregation added pews, a wooden floor, and the first section of a gallery. That gallery section bears the date 1652. Further galleries, a new pulpit, and a new altarpiece followed in the 18th century. The church’s older religious imagery also came under pressure during that period. Paintings of saints on the walls, saint images on the ceilings, and other decoration were threatened with removal, but protests helped ensure that they were retained. Some paintings were later covered with whitewash, while the ceiling paintings and a depiction of Saint Ursula behind the altarpiece remained untouched.

In 1773, the separate bell tower burned down. The bells were then installed in a roof turret above the church. The fire also influenced local burial customs, since burning cemetery crosses had made firefighting more difficult. The community consequently decided to stop erecting permanent crosses over graves.

Abandonment and preservation

By 1780, the church could accommodate no more than about 300 people, while the area’s population had reached about 875. After approximately three decades of debate, a new church was built as the population rose to about 1,800. Ytterlännäs New Church opened in 1854, with Israel Israelsson Näslund serving as vicar. The old church was then abandoned for regular congregational use, and its stones were nearly claimed for reuse. Magistrate Carl Martin Schönmeyer, owner of Angsta estate, successfully argued for preservation, and the decision to retain the building was made in 1850.

From 1870, the old church was operated as a museum with an admission fee. Limited interest led to gradual neglect, and the building stood completely abandoned and deteriorating between 1910 and 1913. In 1937, art historian and newspaper editor Gustaf Näsström led a campaign to save it. The work included carefully removing whitewash wherever possible. In 1950, marking the centenary of the preservation decision, the Maria Bell was returned from the new church.

Architect Lars Holmer surveyed the building in 1963, preparing detailed measurements, elevations, a plan, and longitudinal and transverse sections. Gösta and Torsten Melin made a documentary film about the church in 1964 and filmed its extensive renovation in 1978. Since 1995, the church has functioned as a roadside church, opening daily for seven weeks after midsummer with guiding, a medieval workshop, and other activities.

Remains

Ytterlännäs old church retains its original walls and principal medieval structure. It is a Romanesque stone building with masonry more than one metre thick. The walls consist of two outer faces of large stones, with sand and smaller stones filling the space between them. This robust construction gives the church a defensive character and suited its possible use as shelter for the congregation during attacks. Later Gothic elements, especially the raised brick-supported vaults, remain integrated with the earlier structure.

Medieval fabric and entrances

Stone walls and exterior door

The original exterior door is made from broad planks that narrow toward the top. Its exceptional height allowed a processional cross to pass through without being tilted. Heavy iron fittings include a wreath-like protective ornament around the keyhole. A bronze lion-head door knocker is attached to the door. Dating from the eighth century and associated with the Byzantine cultural sphere around Constantinople, it probably reached Sweden through Viking connections.

Choir, vaults, and entrance buildings

The 15th-century rebuilding widened the choir until it was as broad as the nave. The ceilings were raised and supported by brick Gothic vaults, while the windows were enlarged. The church still contains 15th-century brick vault elements and 18th-century plaster. The vestry and the covered weapon-house belong to the same medieval expansion and remain part of the building’s surviving arrangement.

Painted and carved interior

Frescoes and painted imagery

Frescoes from around 1490 cover much of the interior, including the walls and vaults. Their subjects include scenes from the Bible and legends of the saints, and their style links them with the Tierp school and its anonymous Alphabet Master. A representation of Saint Ursula survives behind the altarpiece. The ceiling paintings also survived the 18th-century campaign that led to the whitewashing of other painted surfaces.

Altarpieces and medieval sculpture

The church preserves a marble baptismal font from Gotland and a crucifix dating from the 14th century. A winged altarpiece in the Lübeck style was made around the 1470s or 1480s and has occupied several positions within the church. Two earlier 14th-century wooden sculptures were incorporated into it, replacing other sculptures from the same period that had disappeared for unknown reasons.

Ytterlännäs Madonna

The Ytterlännäs Madonna altar cabinet bears the coat of arms of the Uppsala archdiocese and the personal arms of Archbishop Jakob Ulfsson, shown as an eagle’s claw. Its form and sculpture associate it with Haaken Gulleson’s workshop. The cabinet probably commemorates Ulfsson’s visit in 1507 and preserves a direct connection between the church and the late-medieval leadership of the archdiocese.

Early modern furnishings and bells

Pews, floor, and galleries

The 17th-century interior retains pews, a broad-plank wooden floor, and the first section of a three-part gallery, dated 1652. A second gallery was added in the 18th century. These furnishings reflect the changing arrangement of the congregation after the medieval period.

Pulpit, altarpiece, and Maria Bell

The 18th-century pulpit and altarpiece remain associated with the church. The altarpiece includes a Last Supper sculpture with thirteen figures around the table in addition to Christ. After the 1773 fire, a roof turret was built over the nave to house the bells. The Maria Bell, cast in the 15th century and named for the Virgin Mary, was later transferred to the new church before returning to the old church in 1950.