Öja Church, Medieval church in Gotland, Sweden
Öja Church is a largely Gothic stone church with a choir that has a straight outer east wall but a rounded apse inside, a nave vaulted on four columns, and a 59.15-metre west tower, Gotland's tallest. Its three carved portals include a richly sculpted north portal showing Jesus, Mary, John the Evangelist and a reclining saint interpreted as Eligius.
A 12th-century Romanesque church came first; a few of its carved fragments are set into the present building. The choir with its internal apse was raised in the first half of the 13th century, the Gothic nave at the end of that century, and the tall west tower in the later 14th century by the workshop of the anonymous master Egypticus. A vestry was added to the north in the 19th century.
The name Öja comes from the Swedish word ö, meaning island, indicating the site was inhabited before it became part of mainland Gotland through post-glacial rebound. The church is known for its medieval wooden sculpture of a grieving Virgin Mary, the Mater dolorosa, called "Vår Fru av Öja" or "Öjamadonnan"; the original is in the Gotland Museum and a copy stands in the choir.
The church belongs to Hoburgs församling in the Diocese of Visby. The 59.15-metre tower, Gotland's tallest church tower, is a visible landmark. The medieval murals were uncovered during the 1938–1939 restoration. The church stands by the road, with the round kastal ruin across the road to the northeast.
The triumphal cross above the chancel screen is a late 13th-century work by the carver known as the Öjamästaren, its cross ringed by a carved band with angels above and the Expulsion from Paradise below. Christ wears a golden crown, flanked by Mary and John; the arm plates carry the evangelists' symbols. The mourning Mary statue, the Öjamadonna, is a copy — the original is at Gotlands museum.
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