Köpingsvik's church
Köping's church and cemetery are located along road 136 in the middle of the community of Köping. The place has a very long history and was a trading center on Öland during the Iron Age.
The parish is therefore rich in ancient remains. Northeast of the church stands one of the more curious; The court tile that is believed to be from the 1000th century. This is an almost 3 meter high stone placed on a hill and with a runic loop that reads "Torer and Torsten and Torfast, these brothers erected the stone after their father Gunnfus". God help his soul. To the east of the church is a two-storey building that was built in the 1840s. It then housed the parish's first school and parish cottage. Today, the building is owned by the local community association which, among other things, have their collections here. Next to this building is a yellow-painted wooden villa. It was built in 1880 as a teacher's residence but has also been used as a cantor's residence.
North of the cemetery is a row of church stables. When they were built, within the framework of this work, it has not been possible to find out. They form the remains of all the church stables that once surrounded the church, but when the other sections were demolished is not known.
The Church
Köping's little church built in 2007 Photo: Sigvard Carlsson
In the area around Köping's church there are several ancient remains, of which Christian grave monuments from the 1000th century are a large group. This makes researchers believe that there was a wooden church on the site at this time. According to tradition, the wooden church must have been 5 meters west of today's cemetery. However, no traces of this church have been found. The first stone church began to be built in the middle of the 1100th century. Then a chancel and an apse were built of stone, while the nave appears to have been of wood. Not long after the chancel was finished, the nave and west tower were built of stone. During the end of the 1100th century and the beginning of the 1200th century, the church was rebuilt. A tower was erected in the east so that the church became a gabled church. Armory in the south was built in the middle of the 1200th century and a sacristy in the north around the year 1300.
After long discussions, the congregation decided in the early 1800th century to demolish the medieval church and build a new one. The drawings were made by Jacob Wulff at the Office of the Superintendent. Parts of the medieval church's north wall were incorporated into the new church, but the rest was demolished. The new church had a tower to the west and choir and sacristy to the east. Already after a few years, it turned out that the foundation of the new church was very poor. The building suffered from subsidence so severe that bricks broke. At the beginning of the 1900th century, the building was also hit by two strong lightning strikes. In the 1940s, the church was so dilapidated that they did not dare to use it. The services were then moved to the parish hall and planning to build a new church began.
In 1954-55, the new church was built according to drawings by Ärland Noreen. When the church from 1805 had been demolished, an investigation was made of the medieval church's foundation remains. The new church was built with a full-width chancel in the east and a tower in the west. During 2007, work is underway on an extension of the church's armory to the north. Minneslund Minneslunden is located east of the church. The place is surrounded by tuja hedges. In the southern part there are flower beds with roses and summer flowers, an ornamental cherry tree and small walkways paved with limestone tiles. Also in the north there is a flower bed as well as a wooden cross and a cabinet for candles. Here the ground is sown with grass. Minneslunden was completed in 1992.
Buildings
To the east of the cemetery there is a building that houses the janitor's office and garage. The building has horizontal yellow panels, white joinery and gabled roof covered with brick. In front of one of the building's doors is a grave slab as a stair tile. Outside the cemetery's northeast corner is a row of preserved church stables. The building has standing red-painted panels, black doors, white joinery and a pulpit roof covered with black sheet metal. In some of the spaces, a collection of architectural fragments from the medieval church is kept. The objects are placed on a bed of shingle.
Other
Along the cemetery wall in the north-east corner of the cemetery are a number of tomb guards that were removed from the cemetery. The majority of these have been closed down. A number of tombstones or parts of tombstones are set up at both the eastern and western entrance to the cemetery. In Köping's cemetery, there are several burial mounds, tombstones and standing tombs of great age, which make them culturally historically valuable. There are also nurseries that are made of special materials, have a distinctive design or otherwise have an interesting history. An inventory of which tomb guards are of greatest interest and a proposal for an action program was made in 1998. However, this was never carried out, which is why several culturally-historically valuable grave guards and pavers in the cemetery are in urgent need of measures today.
Source: Kalmar County Museum
North of the cemetery is a row of church stables. When they were built, within the framework of this work, it has not been possible to find out. They form the remains of all the church stables that once surrounded the church, but when the other sections were demolished is not known.
The Church
Köping's little church built in 2007 Photo: Sigvard Carlsson
In the area around Köping's church there are several ancient remains, of which Christian grave monuments from the 1000th century are a large group. This makes researchers believe that there was a wooden church on the site at this time. According to tradition, the wooden church must have been 5 meters west of today's cemetery. However, no traces of this church have been found. The first stone church began to be built in the middle of the 1100th century. Then a chancel and an apse were built of stone, while the nave appears to have been of wood. Not long after the chancel was finished, the nave and west tower were built of stone. During the end of the 1100th century and the beginning of the 1200th century, the church was rebuilt. A tower was erected in the east so that the church became a gabled church. Armory in the south was built in the middle of the 1200th century and a sacristy in the north around the year 1300.
After long discussions, the congregation decided in the early 1800th century to demolish the medieval church and build a new one. The drawings were made by Jacob Wulff at the Office of the Superintendent. Parts of the medieval church's north wall were incorporated into the new church, but the rest was demolished. The new church had a tower to the west and choir and sacristy to the east. Already after a few years, it turned out that the foundation of the new church was very poor. The building suffered from subsidence so severe that bricks broke. At the beginning of the 1900th century, the building was also hit by two strong lightning strikes. In the 1940s, the church was so dilapidated that they did not dare to use it. The services were then moved to the parish hall and planning to build a new church began.
In 1954-55, the new church was built according to drawings by Ärland Noreen. When the church from 1805 had been demolished, an investigation was made of the medieval church's foundation remains. The new church was built with a full-width chancel in the east and a tower in the west. During 2007, work is underway on an extension of the church's armory to the north. Minneslund Minneslunden is located east of the church. The place is surrounded by tuja hedges. In the southern part there are flower beds with roses and summer flowers, an ornamental cherry tree and small walkways paved with limestone tiles. Also in the north there is a flower bed as well as a wooden cross and a cabinet for candles. Here the ground is sown with grass. Minneslunden was completed in 1992.
Buildings
To the east of the cemetery there is a building that houses the janitor's office and garage. The building has horizontal yellow panels, white joinery and gabled roof covered with brick. In front of one of the building's doors is a grave slab as a stair tile. Outside the cemetery's northeast corner is a row of preserved church stables. The building has standing red-painted panels, black doors, white joinery and a pulpit roof covered with black sheet metal. In some of the spaces, a collection of architectural fragments from the medieval church is kept. The objects are placed on a bed of shingle.
Other
Along the cemetery wall in the north-east corner of the cemetery are a number of tomb guards that were removed from the cemetery. The majority of these have been closed down. A number of tombstones or parts of tombstones are set up at both the eastern and western entrance to the cemetery. In Köping's cemetery, there are several burial mounds, tombstones and standing tombs of great age, which make them culturally historically valuable. There are also nurseries that are made of special materials, have a distinctive design or otherwise have an interesting history. An inventory of which tomb guards are of greatest interest and a proposal for an action program was made in 1998. However, this was never carried out, which is why several culturally-historically valuable grave guards and pavers in the cemetery are in urgent need of measures today.
Source: Kalmar County Museum