Ysane Church: A Medieval Parish Church in Sweden
Site at a Glance
- Country
- Sweden
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Danish, Swedish
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page10 sections
History
Ysane Church is a medieval parish church near Sölvesborg, Sweden, built and consecrated around 1300. Dedicated to Saint Gertrude, patron saint of travelers, it serves Mjällby parish within the Diocese of Lund, a regional jurisdiction of the Lutheran Church of Sweden.
Foundation and medieval development
The church was first built without a tower. Its bells were kept in a separate wooden bell tower, and a brick porch was added later in the medieval period. Around the middle of the fifteenth century, vaults were installed. In 1459, the painter Nils Håkansson completed wall paintings in the church; an inscription records the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary as their completion date and asks for prayers for him.
Alterations and rediscovery
In 1777, the church was extended westward and its original choir was converted into a sacristy. In 1862, the south porch was demolished and a tower was built at the west end. The nave’s vaults were replaced with a timber barrel vault, a continuous, tunnel-like ceiling. The detached bell tower was removed, and the bells were transferred to the new tower.
The medieval wall paintings were rediscovered in 1931 and restored in 1938.
Remains
Built of natural stone and brick, the church has roughcast exterior walls. Its plan includes a rectangular nave, a narrower choir with a straight eastern end, a tower at the west end and a sacristy east of the choir.
Exterior and plan
Roof, walls and entrances
The nave has a gabled roof covered with red tiles laid in a single-lap pattern. The north slope of the sacristy roof retains an old type of red tile. There is an entrance in the south wall of the nave and another on the east side of the sacristy.
West tower
The tower has a copper-covered cap, an octagonal lantern, an open upper structure above the roof, and a small spire that was originally topped with a cross. The main entrance is in its west wall. Above it, a stone plaque bears the monogram of Charles XV, king of Sweden and Norway from 1859 to 1872. The bell chamber contains two bells dated 1808 and 1897.
Interior and furnishings
Choir vault and paintings
Behind a substantial triumphal arch, the original choir retains a late-medieval cross vault, formed by intersecting vaulted sections. Medallion-shaped paintings on its surfaces show sacred figures from the Bible and saints’ legends, while the east wall depicts Jesus entering Jerusalem. A painted Latin inscription on a band above the arch names Nils Håkansson and asks for prayers for him. Near the arch, a recovered painting on the nave’s south wall shows Jesus in Gethsemane.
Altar and furnishings
The wooden altar retable, an ornamental structure behind the altar, is the upper part of an altarpiece bought in 1772 from Bäckaskog for the neighboring church of Gammalstorp. Its central relief depicts the Resurrection of Jesus, with a figure of Christ holding a globe above it and the four Evangelists beside it. Other surviving furnishings include an altar rail dated 1803, a seventeenth-century carved-oak pulpit with reliefs of the four Evangelists, closed pews dated 1665, an organ gallery dated 1698 and a brass chandelier dated 1808.
