Construction
cathedral in Lund, Sweden
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Lund Cathedral (Swedish: Lunds domkyrka) is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archiepiscopal see of all the Nordic countries, dedicated to Saint Lawrence. It is one of the oldest stone buildings still in use in Sweden.
Lund Cathedral has been called "the most powerful representative of Romanesque architecture in the Nordic countries." At the time of its construction, Lund and the cathedral belonged to Denmark. The main altar was consecrated in 1145 and the cathedral was by that time largely finished; the western towers were built somewhat later. Its architecture shows clear influences from contemporary north Italian architecture, conveyed via the Rhine Valley. The earliest architect was named Donatus, though his precise role in the construction of the cathedral is difficult to determine. The new cathedral was richly decorated with stone sculpture, including two unusual statues in the crypt traditionally called "The giant Finn and his wife" about which a local legend has developed. The cathedral was severely damaged in a fire in 1234, and major restoration works were carried out in the early 16th century under the leadership of Adam van Düren. Following the Reformation, the cathedral suffered from lost income and dilapidation. In 1658, the city of Lund and the cathedral became a part of Sweden following the Treaty of Roskilde. Lund Cathedral was the site of the ceremony acknowledging the founding of Lund University in 1668. Repairs were made during the 18th century but in 1832 a complete restoration of the cathedral was recommended. Subsequently, much of the cathedral was restored and rebuilt during most of the 19th century. The work was first led by Carl Georg Brunius and later by architect Helgo Zettervall and not entirely finished until 1893. The changes implemented during the 19th century were extensive; among other things, Zettervall had the entire western part, including the towers, demolished and rebuilt to his own designs.
The medieval cathedral contains several historic furnishings and works of art. Its main altarpiece was donated to the cathedral in 1398, and it also contains Gothic choir stalls, bronzes and an astronomical clock from the 15th century (although heavily restored in 1923). When it was built, Lund Cathedral was lavishly decorated with Romanesque stone sculptures. It also contains late medieval stone sculptures from the time of Adam van Düren's renovation. After the Reformation the cathedral was also equipped with a decorated pulpit. Of more recent date is the large mosaic in the apse, by Joakim Skovgaard, installed in 1927. Lund Cathedral has six church organs, one of which is the largest in Sweden, and is also used as a concert venue.
Christian missionaries from present-day Germany and England were active in the Christianisation of Denmark, and vied for influence over the kingdom. Denmark eventually became part of the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen. Lund was at the time part of Denmark. With the consolidation of Danish monarchy during the second half of the 11th century, and with a political crisis in continental Europe, there arose an opportunity for the Danish monarchs to bypass the German influence over church policy in Denmark. An episcopal see was created in Lund in 1060. At the same time, another see was created in Dalby, close to Lund, where Dalby Church was built adjacent to what was possibly a royal palace. However, when the first bishop of Lund (Henry of Lund) died, the erstwhile bishop of Dalby, Egino, was installed in Lund and Dalby abandoned as the seat of a bishop. At the same time, in 1103, Lund was proclaimed an archiepiscopal see overseeing all Nordic countries.
The cathedral was not the first church to be built in Lund; the earliest churches (now vanished) were built in the city at the end of the 10th century. Some kind of rudimentary settlement probably existed at the site of Lund Cathedral at the end of the 10th and early 11th centuries, but no remains of buildings have been found there. Lund Cathedral is one of the oldest stone buildings still in use in Sweden. During the Middle Ages, the cathedral was surrounded by several buildings serving the diocese, of which only Liberiet, which at one point served as a library, survives.
The earliest written mention of a church in Lund dedicated to Saint Lawrence – the patron saint of Lund Cathedral during the Middle Ages – dates from 1085. Slightly later sources mention both a new and an old church dedicated to Saint Lawrence. During the 1940s, archaeological excavations in the cathedral uncovered the foundations of another church inside the present building. The exact age, shape and function of this predecessor to the cathedral has been a matter of some debate. Most scholars believe that construction of a church on the site of Lund Cathedral was begun sometime during the second half of the 11th century. Some time thereafter a new church was begun in almost the same place, but to a larger design in the form of the present cathedral. Parts of the earlier church may have been incorporated in the walls of the cathedral. The decision to abandon Dalby as a bishopric and make Lund the sole archbishopric in Scandinavia may have prompted the change of plans.
Apart from the obscurity which thus surrounds the very beginning of the history of the cathedral, the construction of Lund Cathedral is probably among the most well documented among any Romanesque churches. Two contemporary accounts of the building of the cathedral, in the form of the illuminated manuscripts Necrologium Lundense and Liber daticus vetustior, are still preserved in the library of Lund University. Both books contain notes, written in Latin, with dates of the progression of the construction. The oldest part of the cathedral is the large crypt. Its main altar was inaugurated on 30 June 1123, followed by the north (1126) and south (1131) side altars of the crypt. Only then did the cathedral begin to be used. One of the main functions of the crypt appears to have been as a place where baptisms were conducted. The main altar of the cathedral was dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint Lawrence on 1 September 1145, by the second archbishop of Lund, Eskil, in a ceremony attended by bishops from present-day Germany, Denmark and Sweden. By then, the construction of the cathedral to more or less its present dimensions was complete.
Unusually for that time, the architect of the cathedral is known by his name, Donatus. The name appears in both the Necrologium Lundense (as "Donatus architectus") and the Liber daticus vetustior. Donatus may have been responsible for the layout of the crypt and the cathedral above ground as far west as the current north and south portals of the cathedral, although it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions about his precise role. The same is true for his successor, possibly a builder named Ragnar. The building erected during the time of Donatus and his successor show clear influences from Romanesque architecture in Lombardy, conveyed via the Rhine Valley. Donatus himself appears to have been from, or at least educated in, Lombardy. Speyer Cathedral in western Germany is stylistically closely related to Lund Cathedral (especially the crypt), and it has been proposed that Donatus came to Lund from Speyer, where construction more or less ceased in 1106 following the death of Emperor Henry IV. Similarities have also frequently been pointed out between Lund Cathedral and Mainz Cathedral, and the design of the apse is similar to that of the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht. On a more general level, the origins of the style of Lund Cathedral can be found in Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio (Milan), Modena Cathedral and several churches in Pavia, all in northern Italy. Similar stylistic influences can be seen in other cathedrals in Denmark from the same time, for example in Ribe Cathedral.
The building of Lund Cathedral must have involved a large number of people and was a collective undertaking. Comparable but somewhat later workshops at Cologne Cathedral and Uppsala Cathedral employed a workforce of about 100 and 60 people, respectively. The project was instrumental in establishing a workshop where local craftsmen could be educated, and thus disseminating artistic influences from continental Europe to Scandinavia. The stone sculptors Carl stenmästare, Mårten stenmästare and Majestatis were probably all Scandinavians who were educated at the construction site. Many early Romanesque stone churches in the countryside, particularly in Scania but also in the rest of present-day Denmark and Sweden, show direct influences from Lund Cathedral, notably Vä Church (Scania). Other examples are e.g. Valby Church (Zealand), Lannaskede Old Church (Småland), Hogstad Church (Östergötland) and Havdhem Church (Gotland).
The plan and layout of the building consecrated in 1145 was similar to the one seen today. A noticeable difference was that the entire choir was separated from the nave by a wall and reserved for the clergy. The towers were also not built until a few decades later. The intention was probably to provide the cathedral with vaults, but instead a flat wooden ceiling was installed. The cathedral was adorned with wall paintings and almost certainly by stained glass windows, but none of these remain. In 1234, the cathedral was heavily damaged by a large fire. Large donations were made to the church in the following years, to allow for repairs. Even so, the need for repairs was continuous for the entire 13th century. Following the fire, the burnt-out ceiling was replaced by brick vaults. Changes were also made to the layout of the westernmost part of the building. A conflict erupted between King Christopher I of Denmark and Archbishop Jakob Erlandsen in 1257 partially because the choir had been enlarged and the seats of the royal family moved, itself a testimony of the growing power of the Church. Two chapels were added to the cathedral during the 14th and 15th centuries; one located adjacent to the two westernmost bays of the south aisle of the nave, and the other as a western extension of the south transept. Buttresses were also added piecemeal to the building during the 13th and 14th centuries, to stabilise the building which was under strain from the new, heavier vaults, the added chapels and the constant ringing of the 8.5 tonne church bell.
The German sculptor and builder Adam van Düren apparently worked intermittently at restoring and altering the cathedral between c. 1506 or 1507 and 1524. Despite, and to some extent because of, the work that had been done during the preceding centuries since the great fire of 1234, the cathedral was in need of a thorough restoration. Adam van Düren and his workshop made several changes and contributions. A new drainage system was installed in the crypt, and as part of that work a well, which probably replaced an earlier well in the same location, was decorated with satirical allegories. The workshop of van Düren also created two new windows in the choir, built a large buttress to support the southern transept (before 1513), and rebuilt the gable of the northern transept (1524) as well as its vaults. New and considerably larger windows with pointed arches were installed in both the northern wall of the north transept and in the southern wall of the south transept. The towers and western facade were also repaired in 1512–18 and again in 1527. It has been argued that the cathedral may have collapsed, were it not for the work done by van Düren.
Following the Reformation in the 16th century, the diocese lost much of its revenues. The building was still subjected to much stress, not least by the use of the large church bell, and suffered during the recurrent wars between Denmark and Sweden; in 1658 Lund permanently became part of Sweden. Despite van Düren's repairs, the church was described as being "very dilapidated" in 1682. During the 18th century, the chapels of the church were used for funerals, but also as an improvised morgue where corpses were occasionally left for several years. Attempts at repairs were made; among them the entire apse was dismantled and then re-erected. Many of the repairs were however either temporary or outright detrimental to the condition of the building. King Gustav III of Sweden visited the cathedral crypt in 1785 and expressed his displeasure at its state. In 1812, the aforementioned chapels from the 14th and 15th centuries were demolished.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Lund Cathedral”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.