Churches, Stone. The first stone churches in Scandinavia were built in the second half of the 11th century. In Denmark, these churches comprise a group, especially around Roskilde, built of calcareous tufa. The most important was undoubtedly the bishop's church at Roskilde, built by Bishop Sven (1074-1088) as a basilica with transeptal chapels and a so-called "westwork" forming the western termination of the church. Another Roskilde church built by Bishop Sven was St. Mary's, a regular basilica without transepts.
Around 1090, a wooden church in Odense, dedicated to St. Alban, was replaced by a stone structure. Early jutlandish stone churches include Asmild, Venge, and Tamdrup. Asmild was a basilica of Saxon design with a west choir, while Venge, which is still preserved, has a single nave with transeptal chapels, aspidal chancel, and a west tower. The details show English influence. In Århus, an aisled crypt, originally part of the 11th-century church of St. Nicolas, has been excavated.
In Scania, parts of an early bishop's church in Dalby (later an Augustinian foundation) are still preserved. The church was a basilica without transepts, terminated in the east by a square-ended chancel, all built of granite and sandstone.
In Sweden, St. Per in Sigtuna is the only surviving member of an early group of stone churches with aisled naves, transepts with aspidal chapels, small chancels with or without apses, and west towers furnished with galleries for the church patron. This group included the first bishop's church at Linköping and the royal churches of Gudhem and Vreta, later to become monastery churches. The earliest single-naved churches also had towers of this kind (e.g., Rydaholm in Smäland and Husaby in Vastergötland, where the stone tower originally was added to a wooden church).
The first Norwegian stone churches were a series of 11th-century bishop's churches in Trondheim, Seije (on the west coast of Norway), and Bergen. The churches in Bergen and Trondheim have vanished, but Selje, which had an aisled nave, perhaps with a central tower resting on six slender piers, is still standing as a ruin. A little later, the present cathedral of Stavanger was built as a regular basilica with a west tower, but without transepts and with a small, square chancel. The first stone churches in East Norway, from around 1100 or a little later, seem to be a group in Oslo, including the cathedral of St. Halyard, a parish church dedicated to Clemens, and the royal chapel of St. Mary together with a small church at Hovedöy, later to form the core of a Cistercian abbey church just outside the town. Apart from St. Halyard's, which was a basilica with regular transepts, these churches were single-naved, although St. Clemens's and the church at Hovedöy had a series of pillars in the middle of the nave that carried roof beams, or, more probably, small vaults.
The most important buildings undertaken in Scandinavia in the 12th century were the new cathedrals erected especially in Denmark (including Scania). Among them, Lund in Scania, from 1104 the seat of an archbishop, was the first, and probably the most influential one. Here, masons of Rhenish-Lombardic origin built an aisled church with transepts. No central tower was built, but the nave was terminated by a western twin-tower front. The eastern part of the church was in many respects modeled on the cathedral of Speyer, Germany. The cathedral of Ribe, Jutland, reflects German influence from the Rhine-Maas area. It is even built of stone imported from Germany. Unlike Lund, the apse springs directly from the east wall of the transepts, the crossing of which is covered by a dome and crowned by a central tower. Besides Lund and Ribe, new cathedrals were built in Viborg (heavily restored), in Århus (rebuilt) and, late in the century, in Roskilde. In Trondheim, Norway, the building of a new cathedral started around 1150 with the erection of a transept by English masons, probably from Lincoln. Monastic churches also played an important part in the development of Scandinavian stone architecture. St. Alban's, Odense, and Venge were early Benedictine foundations. Later foundations of great importance were Ringsted (Benedictine) and Sorø (Cistercian). Munkeliv near Bergen (Benedictine) is a key monument for understanding the 12th-century architecture of Bergen and West Norway. In Sweden, Cistercian abbeys like Alvastra and Varnhem become equally important.
The 12th century saw the building of many parish churches in stone. In Denmark alone, some 1,500 churches were built, the majority of them consisting of a single nave, a chancel with or without apse, and sometimes a west tower. Usually, their details reflect stylistic influence from the local cathedral. In Sweden, churches with east towers occur (e.g., Hossmo, Smäland). The churches of Gotland are characterized by masonry and sculptural details of especially high quality. At Bornholm, a special type of round church was built, obviously for defense purposes. In Norway, parish churches made of stone are found on both sides of the Oslo fjord, along the coast of West Norway and in Trondelag, where a series of large parish churches reflect Anglo-Norman influence probably conveyed by masons from Trondheim.
Around 1160, brick was introduced as a new building material in Scandinavia, first in Denmark, a little later in Sweden, and from around 1250 in Norway. In Denmark, brick became the dominant building matenal in Sweden, it was generally used except in northern Götaland and Gotland, where good building stone was abundant. In Norway, brick was to some extent used in the eastern part of the country and in Bergen and Trondheim, but the majority of the Norwegian stone churches were built in coursed rubble or dressed stone throughout the Middle Ages.
An early, unique Danish church made of brick is the church of Kalundborg, dating from the last quarter of the 12th century. It is built over a cruciform ground plan, probably Byzantine-inspired. The equally long cross-arms terminate in octagons that, together with the crossing, are crowned by towers.
Another early Danish brick building is the cathedral of Roskilde (1170-1220), the design of which seems to reflect Early Gothic stylistic ideals as manifested in some North French cathedrals (Noyon, Laon, Arras). Of a similar French design is the cathedral of Uppsala (ca. 1250-1350), which in part was built by the French architect Étienne de Bonneuil, who worked in Uppsala from 1287 to 1300. The cathedral of Trondheim (1180-1320) could, on the other hand, be labeled as typically English. It was built in dressed stone. Both general design and ornamental details show close resemblance with Lincoln and, as far as the western part of the building is concerned, Westminster Abbey. The octagonal termination of the choir is, however, a unique construction unparalleled among European cathedrals, while the choir extension of the cathedral in Stavanger (1273-1300) is less original. Its east front is probably inspired by Lincoln.
The cathedrals mentioned above were all basilicas. So was also one of the most important late 13th-century Danish churches, the cathedral of St. Knud (Cnut) in Odense, and two other large churches, the town churches of St-Peter's, Malmö and St. Mary's, Copenhagen, both built in the 14th century. In other Danish towns, a sort of "pseudo-basilica" with triforium galleries but without clerestory windows was built, e.g., in Slagelse and Køge. Ordinary hall churches also occur, eg., St. Olav's, Elsinore.
In Sweden, hall churches were introduced by the mendicant orders, the Dominican church of St. Mary's in Sigtuna (1230-1240) being the first. The type became common, e.g., St. Mary's in Visby, Gotland, the cathedrals of Linköping, Strängnäs, and Åbo in Finland. The Brigettine churches of Vadstena, Sweden, and Maribo, Jutland, both 15th-century, were also built as large hail churches. But the most spectacular Danish example is perhaps the 15th-century choir of Århus cathedral (1460-1470).
Apart from the cathedrals of Roskilde and Uppsala, which were inspired by French models, the majority of Danish and Swedish brick churches are offspring of North German brick architecture. St. Mary's, Visby, and other Gotlandish stone churches have their closest parallels in Rhineland-Westphalia. Masons from Gotland also introduced this style in Linköping and even in Uppsala.
The period 1300-1500 saw practically no church-building activity in Norway. In Sweden and Denmark, relatively few new churches were built, but many churches were enlarged and vaulted. New and larger choirs were built, and towers were added in the west. Some new churches of particular importance have already been mentioned. Others include the cathedral of Haderslev and the well-preserved Carmelite church of St. Mary's, Elsinore.
Hans-Emil Lidén