Borgholm's church

Borgholm's church

Borgholm's cemetery is located in the northwestern part of the city. The site is surrounded in the north by a strip of beach towards Kalmarsund, in the east by the Kapelludden campsite, in the south by Sandgatan and Bäckmans park and in the west by the harbor area.

What was once the outskirts of the city has now become part of the urban environment. The church is located a short distance from the cemetery by the square. This type of solution with church and cemetery some distance apart became common in cities during the 1800th century.

The Church

The church in Borgholm began to be built in 1872. Previously, the schoolhouse had been used as a church building. When a church was built, it was built together with a new school building. Architect was Ernst Abraham Jacobsson, Stockholm, and builder Chronwall, Kalmar. The part that housed the school was already ready in 1873, while the construction of the church dragged on because there was a lack of money. In 1879, the church was consecrated by Bishop Pehr Sjöbring, Kalmar. The style is neo-Romanesque with buttresses, round arch friezes, blinds and the turrets of the tower. The tower is placed in the middle of the building body and the chancel faces east. The exterior has not undergone any major changes. The interior of the church was originally decorated in a period-typical neoclassical style. The church was renovated in 1935, but it got its current appearance during a rebuild in 1960-61. The new interior was designed by the architect Carl Hampus Bergman. In connection with the rebuilding, the former school building became a parish home. This part of the building had been used for several different activities during the 1900th century.

Memory grove

The memorial grove was established in 1985 and is located by the cemetery's northern wall between the area from the 1920s and St. Elavi's chapel. The area has the shape of a triangle and is surrounded in the east, west and north by a low limestone wall. Inside the wall, ornamental shrubs are planted to the west. Two stunted elms grow at the entrance. A pathway leads into the memorial grove paved with limestone chips. In the northern part there is a pond and around this there is space to place flower vases. North of the pond, two blue spruces, ornamental shrubs and summer flowers grow. Between the two blue spruce stands a wooden cross. To the west of the pond there is a cupboard in black painted sheet where you can place grave candles. In the eastern part of the area stands a stone with an inscription in gold. Several pine trees grow in the area.

Buildings

In the northeast corner of the cemetery is St. Elavi's chapel. The building, inaugurated in 1971, is constructed of yellow brick with a flat roof covered with green sheet metal. Even in the interior, the walls are covered with yellow brick. The altarpiece chapel consists of large windows with a beautiful view out over the Kalmar Sound. The building also houses a morgue that serves the whole of northern Öland.

The Wardenship

South of the part of the cemetery that was added in the 1950s is the caretaker's office. There are two buildings here. Both are clad with standing green-painted wooden panels and have roofs covered with red-painted tin. They house staff spaces, storage and garages. There is also a simple screen roof, compost and stand-up areas.

The old guardhouse

In the angle between the old cemetery and the part that was added in the 1950s is the old guardhouse, which is today used as storage. The building has a flat roof and brown-painted vertical wooden panels.

Other

To the east of the part of the cemetery that was laid out in the 1990s is a cemetery park with plantings of shrubs and trees as well as lawns. In the northern part of this area there is a ceremonial site marked by a wooden sculpture. Next to the ceremony site is a surface covered with limestone chips. Here there is a pond and benches.

There is no organized staging area for grave guards that have been removed from the cemetery. These are instead gathered in connection with the caretaker's office.

In the southeast corner of the old part of the cemetery, there are still traces of St. Elavi's chapel that originally stood on the site. The tracks consist of a slightly raised rectangular area. According to information, building remains are found here in connection with the re-digging of graves.

Source: Kalmar County Museum