Swedish churches we have visited

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Swedish Churches
In the last couple of days we have visited two beautiful but very different churches. Near Enkoping is the village of Harkebergen. This has a wonderfully preserved medieval church. It is decorated from floor to ceiling with biblical scenes and though the colours have dimmed with age they are still remarkably vibrant. Each panel has a different story or aspect shown in it. We were lucky there was a guide there who showed us different panels from Daniel in the lions’ den, David and Goliath, Jonah and many others. It was easy to see how in a time when the bible was in Latin that these illustrations would have helped tell the story. The guide then showed us the clock tower which unlike in our churches tends to be a separate building near the church entrance. Although the tower was old it is all automated electronically now and bells are rung by pushing a button. This was rather a contrast to the church itself. Today we were at Kopparberg an old mining town. Here there was a large completely timbered church. Covered in shingles on the outside it was very striking. Inside it had a decorated roof in a traditional Swedish patterned style. It was quite simple but strikingly elegant. Again the bell tower was a separate building near the church entrance. Kopparberg was once famed as a mining town but many people will know it for the more modern product it makes. On the outskirts of the town we saw the Kopparberg cider factory!

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