# Alva Church > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alva_Church > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alva_Church.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alva_Church > Source revision: 1354387811 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Infobox church | name = Alva Church | full_name = | other_name = | native_name = Alva kyrka | native_name_lang = [Swedish](/source/Swedish_language) | image = Gotland-Alva-Kirche 01.jpg | image_size = | imagelink = | alt = | landscape = | caption = Alva Church, external view | pushpin_map = Sweden Gotland | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_mapsize = 150px | relief = | map_caption = Location on Gotland | coordinates = {{coord|57.20745|18.36141|format=dms|type:landmark_region:SE|display=inline,title}} | osgraw = | location = | country = [Sweden](/source/Sweden) | denomination = [Church of Sweden](/source/Church_of_Sweden) | previous_denomination = [Catholic](/source/Catholic_Church) | churchmanship = | website = | former_name = | founded = | founder = | dedication = | dedicated = | consecrated = | events = | status = | functional_status = | heritage_designation = | designated = | architect = | architectural_type = | style = | groundbreaking = | completed = | construction_cost = | closed = | demolished = | capacity = | length = | width = | height = | materials = | parish = | deanery = | archdeaconry = | archdiocese = | metropolis = | diocese = [Visby](/source/Diocese_of_Visby) | province = | district = | division = | archbishop = | bishop = | dean = | succentor = | rector = | vice-rector = | vicar = | priest = | deaconness = | pastor = | abbot = | embedded = }} '''Alva Church''' ({{langx|sv|Alva kyrka}}) is a medieval church in [Alva](/source/Alva%2C_Gotland) on the [Swedish](/source/Sweden) island of [Gotland](/source/Gotland). The oldest parts of the church date from the late 12th century; with the halted construction of the tower about a century later, building activity ceased. The church contains medieval murals as well as a number of medieval furnishings and pieces of art. It lies in the [Diocese of Visby](/source/Diocese_of_Visby) of the [Church of Sweden](/source/Church_of_Sweden). == History and architecture == thumb|left|View of the interior towards to choir The oldest parts of the church are the late Romanesque [choir](/source/choir_(architecture)) and the [apse](/source/apse), dating from the late 12th century.{{cite book |editor1-last=Karlsson|editor1-first=Lennart|last= Lindgren|first= Mereth|title= Signums svenska konsthistoria: Den romanska konsten|language=sv|year= 1995|publisher= Signum|location= Lund|isbn= 91-87896-23-0|page=90}} To this the [nave](/source/nave_(architecture)) was added during the late part of the same century. Construction of the broad tower started about a hundred years later but was never finished; hence the somewhat squat appearance of the church today. It seems in fact that construction of the church came to a rapid end: apart from the half-finished tower, the main southern portal also seems to have been finished in a haphazard, chaotic way.{{cite book |editor1-last=Lagerlöf|editor1-first=Erland|last= Lagerlöf|first= Erland|title= Gotlands kyrkor|language=sv|year= 1973|publisher= Rabén & Sjögren|location= Uddevalla|isbn= 9129410355|pages=90–92}} The choir portal is [Romanesque](/source/Romanesque_art) in style and carried some sculpted [relief](/source/relief)s, possibly executed by the workshop or artist known as [Sigraf](/source/Sigraf). The similarly Romanesque northern portal of the church is also decorated with sculptures. Inside, the church displays a set of [wall painting](/source/Church_murals_in_Sweden)s carried out at the end of the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages), probably just before the [reformation](/source/Reformation_in_Denmark) and possibly by the same artist who decorated [Lau Church](/source/Lau_Church). Among the furnishings, the dominating [triumphal cross](/source/triumphal_cross), dating from the middle of the 13th century, and a partly preserved [baptismal font](/source/baptismal_font), executed by the Romanesque workshop or sculptor referred to as [Hegvald](/source/Hegvald) sometime during the end of the 12th century, are especially notable. The [pulpit](/source/pulpit) dates from 1740 and the unusually decorated [altarpiece](/source/altarpiece) from 1653. The church was renovated in 1953–54. Alva Church belongs to the [Church of Sweden](/source/Church_of_Sweden) and lies within the [Diocese of Visby](/source/Diocese_of_Visby).{{cite web |url= https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/visbystift/telefon-och-adresslista-till-alla-vara-forsamlingar-pa-gotland|title= Telefon och adresslista till alla våra 10 pastorat på Gotland|language=sv|author= |publisher= Diocese of Visby (Church of Sweden)|access-date= 24 January 2020}} == References == {{Reflist}} == Further reading == * {{cite book |last=Lagerlöf|first=Erland|date= 1970|title= Alva kyrka|series= Sveriges kyrkor, konsthistoriskt inventarium|language= sv|volume= 137|url= http://samla.raa.se/xmlui/handle/raa/6982|location= Stockholm|publisher= Almqvist & Wiksell |pages= 275–339|issn=0284-1894}} == External links == * {{Commons category-inline}} {{Churches on Gotland}} {{Authority control}} Category:Romanesque architecture in Sweden Category:Gothic architecture in Sweden Category:Churches in Gotland County Category:Churches in the Diocese of Visby Category:Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alva Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alva_Church) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alva_Church?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.