On the road again
Quote of the week
"On the road again. Goin' places that I've never been. Seein' things that I may never see again. And I can't wait to get on the road again."
WILLIE NELSON
Hello,
Finally, we started our somewhat late trip with the van round the big lakes in Sweden. We took it very easy, even the first day, and stayed, just a few hours away from home, in a wild life camping by the river Lagan. It was very peaceful and quiet, except for some mosquitos. The next day we continued north towards our first cultural stop at Habo Church. The visit was a total surprise and this old, wooden church turned out to be a real gem.
Habo Church
The church is sometimes called “The Wooden Cathedral” and is known for its paintings and architecture. The first parish is dated back to the Medieval ages when missionaries came here already in the 11th century. It is believed that the first church was built here in the 12th century, and it has been rebuilt several times since then. The present church was built in 1723, and has a unique style and resembles a cathedral. It is built entirely from wood. The altar is from the 14th century and quite different from what you usually see.
As you know, seating arrangements were different in the old days. Here is what I learned from the information brochure.
“The church architecture tells us quite a lot about the Swedish society in the 18th century. In the six “gentry boxes” on both sides of the altar, the owners of the big country estates had their seats. They also had their own entrance to the church.
The ordinary pews were for the farmers and the crafters who sat at the back. The crafters who worked for the vicarage had a special gallery, below the organ loft.
Women and men sat on different sides right up until the beginning of the 20th century. On the left side, the so called “spinnside”, sat women. The men sat on the right side, with was called the “sword side”.”
Paintings
The church was painted during the years 1741-1743 by two painters from the nearby city of Jönköping. “The paintings illustrate Luther’s Catechism, a summery of the christian faith, which everybody at that time had to learn by heart.” On the side walls are painted the Ten Commandments, and at other places the Lord’s Prayer. It is all magical and so beautiful. They have been restored, the first time already in 1776 when some paintings were damaged. Later, some paintings were damaged by stoves which was used to warm up the church. The paintings were restored in 1912, and in 1952 they were cleaned and restored. They have never been painted over, so they still give you the feeling of being old and original.
There is, of course, a legend to the paintings. In one of them, which represents … “but deliver us from evil”. “It is said that when the artist was painting that picture, the devil himself came into the church. He claimed up the ladder and said to the artist: “I am ugly, but not as ugly as you have painted me. And now I will make you even uglier!” So he hit the artist, who fell down and scarred his face very badly.
True or not, the paintings are exquisite and the mixture of pictures and texts makes it even more thrilling.
Hjo
We continued north to the small town of Hjo, beautifully situated by Vättern. It turned out to have been an old spa town and the park was full of the old, wooden villas from the end of the 19th century. Really beautiful.
We stayed at the camping nearby and it was only a 10 minute walk to come into the city. We walked slowly around the park, into the harbour and further up to the medieval city center.
Hjo’s history dates back to the 15th century. Although having always been a rather small town, it did increase with the construction of the Göta canal in the beginning of the 19th century. It still has its old, small houses and the wooden villas from their time as a spa town, which gives you the feeling you are walking around in the past.
In 1878 the Hjo ‘Vattenkuranstalt’ (water treatment fascility) was founded. The newly built railroad helped Hjo to become a popular place to visit and to drink healthy water. The big park area, situated along the water front already had a few buildings, but more were constructed to facilitate for the new tourism. They are still there today and is giving the park its atmosphere of a somewhat lost golden era. The park was designed by the German garden architect Johan Joseph Sternemann. He wanted to create different “rooms” in the garden where people could sit down, sometimes all by themselves, and feel the peace and quiet. The spa was finally closed down in 1935. Today the old villas are renovated, some for people to live in, some for the public.
Never having been in Sweden, I'm very interested in all this. The church is just beautiful, but then all the buildings are. I'd love to see the paintings up close.
Beautiful.