Ytterlännäs Old Church

The Old Church of Ytterlännäs belongs to Ytterlännäs parish in the province of Ångermanland in Northern Sweden. It is located between Nyland and Bollstabruk on the main road no. 333 in Kramfors Municipality. In terms of ecclesiastical divisions, the parish belonged to the Archdiocese of Uppsala in the Middle Ages, but has been part of the Diocese of Härnösand since that was formed in 1647.

The building dates from the early 13th century, retaining the original walls and the Romanesque outer door with its iron ornament around the keyhole, and a lion's head from c: 800 from the area of Byzantine cultural influence around Constantinople.

From the 14th century there is a marble baptismal font from Gotland, and a crucifix.

In the 15th century a vestry and a 'weapon-house' (porch) were added, the choir was extended to make it as wide as the rest of the church, the roof was raised with vaults of brick, the windows enlarged, the Maria-bell was cast, and there is a candle-holder featuring a cock and a spiral central pillar. In the vaults and on the walls there are well-preserved frescos from the late 15th century, featuring a variety of biblical references and the legends of saints. It also includes an inscription interpreted by the art historian Henrik Cornell in 1918 as spelling maalede Eghil, "painted by Eghil". This was re-interpreted by Einar Bager in a 1969 publication as simply the incipit of the alphabet; the anonymous painter, who belonged to the Tierp school, is now known as Alfabetsmästaren, the Alphabet Master.

An altarpiece in the Lübeck style has been displayed in several positions.

The Ytterlännäs Madonna from Haaken Gulleson's Hälsingland workshop features both the coat of arms of the archdiocese, to which the church belonged at the time, and the personal arms (the claw of an eagle) of Archbishop Jakob Ulfsson, and is presumably a donation made on the occasion of his visit in 1507.

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Wikipedia