Lund Cathedral

The Lund Cathedral (Swedish: Lunds domkyrka, Danish: Lund Domkirke ) in the southern Swedish city of Lund and the historical province of Skåne in southern Sweden today, was built in 1103 in Romanesque style and is the oldest cathedral in Scandinavia. The cathedral was consecrated in 1145 by Archbishop Eskil the Lawrence of Rome, having already in 1123 Eskils predecessor, the first Archbishop Asker in Lund, the high altar was consecrated to the crypt. With the establishment of the appointment began as Archbishop in 1103 on the occasion Askers. The towers were built to a design Heligoland Zettervalls of 1863 in its current form. The cathedral is since its establishment episcopal church of the diocese of Lund.

Location

The cathedral is situated in the medieval town center, south of the Lundagård, staden in Centrala district. In the immediate vicinity significant buildings, such as the Kungshuset north of the cathedral, the main building of the University of north-west, the building of the Academic Association northeast, and the Domkapitelhaus Liberiet are to the southeast.

History

At that time belonged Lund and the countryside Skåne to Denmark. The diocese of Lund was established in 1060, when the Danish king Sven Estridsson let divide the former Bishopric of Roskilde. Skåne was divided into two dioceses in the short term; in Lund, a missionary bishop was used, which had been consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The other diocese was led by a German missionary bishop, and indeed from the village of Dalby, just ten kilometers from Lund. The close connection with England but stopped after 1066 when the Danish king lost associated Danelaw and the Norwegians had lost their influence and their bases in northern England and Scotland.

In 1085, they built a bishop's church where today stands the cathedral. The initiative came from King Canute the Holy - the patron saint of Denmark - who made a large donation that created the economic conditions for a large cathedral chapter and a future Archcathedral. At this time the two Scanian bishoprics were already united under a German bishop and subordinate to the archbishop of Bremen.

Already in 1103, when King Erich during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, visited the Pope in Rome, the king was able to reach Scandinavia ecclesiastical independence from the Archdiocese of Bremen- Hamburg. Lund was raised to the ecclesiastical center of the whole of Scandinavia.

But when King Eric died soon afterwards, followed him king Niels. Planned with the Archbishop Asker King Niels and began the construction of a graceful Archcathedral. Already in the year 1123 was the crypt and consecrated the high altar in 1145. At this time the old bishop's church seems to have been demolished.

Until the Reformation in Denmark around 1530 Lund with its cathedral was a city of great cultural significance, not only for Denmark but for all Scandinavia, Greenland, Iceland and Finland included. So there was at that time in the city of Lund 27 churches, eight of which belonged to different monasteries - a strikingly compared to rich bishoprics in Germany and France high number. The Reformation, however, only lasted the cathedral with the corresponding Cathedral School. The general economic and political supremacy of the church was extinguished in Denmark.

The Diocese of Lund came after the Peace of Roskilde from 1658 to Sweden. The church and the university, founded ten years later played an important role in the integration of Scania in the Swedish Kingdom. The University now took parts of the church for lectures.

Lund and the already mentioned Dalby lie on the south side of the nest Romeleåsen, a large part Südschonens overlooking. The Lund Cathedral as well as the former episcopal church in Dalby built over a spring, which clearly indicates pre-Christian places of worship and surrounded by fertile soil on a very suitable for agriculture plains.

Building

The construction follows the Lombard- Rhenish models. The influence of northern Italy is made clear by the plan scheme, the spacious crypt, the Hausteinschmuck and the dwarf gallery that runs around the apse. The northern Italian influence came about Speyer and Mainz to Northern Europe and also worked on the later cathedrals of Ribe and Viborg.

There are in the medieval architecture of northern Europe churches columns, in which the man figure seemingly emerges from the column. It is actually no longer included in the wearing process of oppressive architecture part, so such columns can not be called atlases. Because the load is transmitted via the capital of the entire column. She has only purely decorative significance of the column from which it is worked out here. Only in this capacity, she has a raumgliedernde function. The clothing of the female characters is not Nordic and Mediterranean. The example of the cathedral of Lund in Sweden can be seen with a newborn baby in her arms, which clings to the column shaft on a column base a squatting female figure. As Kouros or Kore in the sense of pure Greek tradition can not refer to such representations as well.

Column from inside the cathedral ( frontal view)

Column base with a squatting woman with child

Exterior view of the cathedral in Lund

The fact that they found from the tradition of Greek or Roman architecture there input, although it is conceivable, but unlikely. The emergence of the figure columns of the Cathedral of Lund is explained with the following legend: In 1103/ 04, Pope Paschal II on Danish initiative, the Archdiocese of Lund, whose cathedral was built in the sequence, which is also the oldest of Scandinavia. There is a so-called " Finn " sculpture in the crypt. It should thereby be a giant, is expected to complete by which St Lawrence made ​​a pact to build the church, as a result, he lost his eyes, if he does not guessed the giant names to completion. He overheard the woman talking to her son and heard the name " Finn". He called the giant by name, to which he and his family jumped into the crypt and there solidified into stone.

The cathedral was extensively renovated in the 19th century. At the last restoration in the 50s of the 20th century, the exterior was restored to its original appearance.

Equipment

The cathedral is characterized by the large high choir in which both sides are the oak choir stalls from the middle of the 14th century.

Astronomical clock

Special attention deserve the standing from the main entrance on the right clock with chimes and the mosaic in the apse. The astronomical clock Horologium mirabile Lundense was installed at the end of the 14th century and may be the work of Nicholas Lilienfeld. This clock it is still in the church, even if it was improved several times in the following centuries. A moon pointer shows the phase of the moon and the position in the sky, a sun-dial displays the time on a 24 -hour clock, and there is also a Zodiakenzeiger. When the clock plays raise wooden Hornblower their horns. To the sounds of praise In dulci jubilo opens a wicket, with a procession of the three kings bowing over proceeds to Mary with the Child Jesus. The three wooden kings at the same time provide the peoples of the three continents known at that time Europe, Asia and Africa dar.

The 24 -hour clock

The Procession of the Magi

Cathedral organ

The organ from the 1934 's with 101 registers and four manuals, the largest church organ in Sweden.

• Couplers: II / I, III / I, III / II, IV / I, IV / II, IV / III, I / P, II / P III / P IV / P