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Churches in Sweden

 


Gullholmen Church in Bohuslän

 

Gullholmens kyrka - Flygfoto av Gullholmen och Härmanö av Lars Henriksson 2005.
     

 

     
  Gullholmen and Härmanö with Gullholmen Church to the left - Aerial Photo. 

Gullholmen was an old fishing village on the northwest side of the large island of Orust in Bohuslän. The small island, cramped with houses is protected from the hard western winds by Hermanö which is seen at the bottom of the photo. Nowadays nobody here goes fishing in the Skagerack or the North Sea. Most of the houses you see on the photo are summer resorts for wealthy people from the big cities.

Gullholmen and Härmanö belong to the parish of Morlanda and the municipality of Orust.

1798 the King granted Gullholmen the rights to build a chapel for its population, who earlier, according to the law, to travel to Morlanda church every Sunday. In 1924 Gullholmen got the position as an annex parish.

When the chapel and the rectory were going to be built there was no room left on the small island of Gullholmen. The chapel was instead built on Hermanö west of the narrow sound. To get some protection from the hard winds a low valley was choosen - a common solution in the archipelagos of Bohuslän. The chapel was completed in the autumn of 1799, and inaguruated on the first Sunday in Advent.

The present tower with its copper plated spire was raised in 1904, replacing a low tower. The same year also a sacristy was built at the east gable.

The altarpiece was brought to the church in 1828. Probably it is the work of a Dutch artist and brought home to Gullholmen by one of the local skippers.

Two votive ships are hanging in the church. One is model of a square-rigger and one of a cutter of English type - many fishing cutters were once bought second-hand from England by fishermen in Bohuslän.

The church's little bell is from 1799 and the great bell from 1931.

Gullholmen belongs to the Diocese of Göteborg (Gothenburg), the County of Västra Götaland and the Province of Bohuslän. Photo: Lars Henriksson, 17th of September, 2005.

Order a photo in full size (2638 x 1824 pixels)

This photo in full size (2638 x 1824 pixels) is sold as a JPG-file for € 5 or $ 5. Mail me at henriksson@avrosys.nu  Ref. no. 100679.

 

 

  © 2008 Lars Henriksson. Updated: 2008-12-08.