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Gammelstad Church Town — a world-class destination
Gammelstad Church Town outside Luleå is one of Sweden´s 14 World Heritage Sites. History is your constant companion, at the same time as it is a living social environment. The unique Church Town attracts tens of thousands of visitors a year.
The UN body Unesco has set up a list of properties of outstanding natural and cultural value all over the world. The properties on the World Heritage List are of universal value. The aim is to protect and preserve our most valuable heritage and environments for generations to come.
Today there are about 850 objects on the World Heritage List. Sweden can boast 14 World Heritage Sites, three of which are in Norrbotten County. In addition to Gammelstad Church Town, they are Laponia and the Struve Arc, which runs through Tornedalen.
The fundament for the World Heritage List is UNESCO´s World Heritage Site Convention of 1972. Sweden signed the convention in 1985. The convention stipulates that affiliated countries have the legislation and organisation to protect the cultural and natural values in their own country. For an object to be included on the World Heritage List, the country responsible must guarantee that the object is protected.
Gammelstad Church Town
The Church Town was inscribed on the World Heritage List in December 1996. The justification for inscription is worth quoting: "Gammelstad Church Town is an outstanding example of the traditional Church Town found in Northern Scandinavia. It illustrates in an excellent way the adaptation of traditional community planning to the special geographic and climatic conditions that prevail in a harsh natural setting."
The World Heritage Site area includes the church, Church Town, the old town quarters, the public buildings and parts of the more recent permanent buildings. The still-living custom of staying the night in the church cottages in connection with church attendance was decisive in the decision to inscribe it on the World Heritage Site.
Temporary stays
The first church cottages were probably built in the 16th century. The farmers in the outlying villages built small cottages to be able to stay the night in connection with church attendance, court sessions, parish meetings and markets. The Church Town was a natural meeting place for the parishioners, where they could meet friends and acquaintances from different villages. There was a gradual division of religious feasts into old people´s and young people´s feasts. During young people´s feasts, new friendships began which often led to marriage.
The church cottages are still in private ownership. Several times a year the church cottage owners and other parishioners come here for religious feasts and markets. During the traditional Confirmation classes before Midsummer, young people often stay the night in their church cottages.
Church towns
Sweden had a total of 71 Church Towns, but today only 16 remain. Most of them are just relics of what they once were. Gammelstad has Sweden´s biggest and best-preserved Church Town, with 408 cottages containing 553 rooms.
Nederluleå Church
The church in Gammelstad is Northern Sweden´s biggest mediaeval church. It was built in the 15th century and according to tradition, it was dedicated by Archbishop Jacob Ulfsson in 1492. The church has an added porch and vestry, a wood-shingle roof and brick ornamentation on the upper gables. The churchyard wall has two entrances, the northern one of which is in its original state. The entrances contain walled-over loopholes and in the east gable of the church there is a spy hole. This indicates that the church has been used as a sanctuary in times of unrest.
The church has a richly decorated interior and furnishings. The late-mediaeval frescoes are by the School of Albertus Pictor. They were whitewashed over in the 18th century were uncovered during restoration work in 1909.
To the right of the altar there are mediaeval pews and a reconstructed bishop´s throne or cathedra.
The triptych above the altar, with its throng of wooden figures telling the story of the Passion of Christ, is among the finest in Sweden. It was built in Antwerp in around 1520 and cost 900 silver marks, and enormous sum which the farmers of Luleå are said to have paid in cash.
The impressive church organ has 55 stops and 4,200 pipes. It was built by Grönlunds Organ Builders AB in Gammelstad.
Things to do
Next to the church stands the Visitor Centre, in what was a non-Conformist chapel. It features an excellent exhibition which tells in an educational way the history and development of the area. A slide show tells of the different seasons in Gammelstad Church Town, and the feasts, past and present.
Guided tours start from the centre on the hour in summertime. The Visitor Centre is open all year. Gammelstad has restaurants, craft workshops, an antiques dealer and an open-air museum, Hägnan.
