page_title: Hemse Church
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Hemse Church / History
caption_attribution_description: Hemse kyrka, Gotland
context_page_description: Hemse Church is a medieval Lutheran church in Hemse on the island of Gotland. Preceded by the most well-preserved early stave church discovered in Sweden, the current church dates mainly from the 13th century. It contains sets of medieval murals as well as some medieval furnishings. It is part of the Diocese of Visby.
context_section_description: The current stone church in Hemse dates mainly from the 13th century. However, about a century earlier there was a stave church built at the same location. The surprisingly well-preserved stave church was found by chance under the floor of the stone church during a restoration in 1896, where the wooden planks of the church had served as an earlier floor. The wooden church, known as Hemse stave church, is the most well-preserved early stave church found in Sweden. There have been plans to erect a replica of the church somewhere near its original location.
  The stave church was probably replaced by the presently visible Romanesque stone church as it became too small for the congregation. The nave and choir were built first, and somewhat later the tower was added.
  During the aforementioned restoration the church was rather insensitively restored inside. A later restoration was carried out in 1962–63.
caption: View of the interior towards the choir
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