Vä Church

Vä Church (Swedish: Vä kyrka), sometimes also called Saint Mary's Church in Vä (Mariakyrkan i Vä) is a well-preserved Romanesque church in Vä, in the southern Swedish province of Scania. It belongs to the Church of Sweden and is a listed building. It was built in the early 12th century, at a time when Scania was part of Denmark. The building was commissioned by a member of the Danish royal family, probably Queen Margaret Fredkulla. The church originally consisted of a nave, a chancel with an apse and two western towers. Quite soon after being finished, it was donated to Premonstratensian monks who used it as the church of their monastery until 1213. It simultaneously functioned as the parish church of Vä. At the end of the Middle Ages, a third tower was built, and in 1593 the building was enlarged. At the beginning of the 19th century, the western towers were demolished. A major restoration was carried out in the 1960s.

The church is one of the oldest stone churches in Sweden and shows several similarities with Lund Cathedral, built at approximately the same time. Although some of the original stone sculptures have been destroyed, some remain. The interior contains some of the oldest church murals in Sweden. These decorate the chancel and the apse. In the chancel, the barrel vault ceiling is decorated with figures carrying speech scrolls of the Christian hymn Te Deum, a subject matter not found elsewhere among medieval murals in Sweden. The apse is dominated by a mural depicting Christ in Majesty.