The Torslanda Church is a medieval church in Gothenburg

Gothenburg

Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. It is located on the island of Hisingen

Hisingen

Hisingen is the fourth-largest island of Sweden , with an area of , and the most populous, forming part of Gothenburg Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is bordered by the Göta älv in the south and east, the Nordre älv in the north, and the Kattegat in the west...

, in the Torslanda

Torslanda

Torslanda is an urban district and a locality situated in Göteborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 10,129 inhabitants in 2005.-The Volvo Torslanda Plant:...

 borough, and it belongs to the parish of Torslanda-Björlanda in the Diocese of Gothenburg.

Building

It is one of the oldest churches on Hisingen and in the whole city, as the oldest part of the building, the nave

Nave

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

 is estimated to have been erected in the 12th century. The porch

Church porch

A church porch is a room at a church's main entrance.In Scandinavia the porch of a church is often called by names meaning weaponhouse. Visitors stored weapons there because of a prohibition against carrying weapons into the sanctuary, or into houses in general....

 was added in 1766; the choir in 1780 and the sacristy

Sacristy

A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...

 in 1806.

Interior

Some of the interior of the church is also notable. There are two baptismal fonts

Baptismal font

A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...

 - one made of stone, dating back to the 13th century, and a wooden one from the 16th century. The wooden pulpit

Pulpit

Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...

 was built in 1627. There is also a crucifix hanging above the entrance to the choir, made in the late 15th century and renovated in 1896.

The 15th century altarpiece

Altarpiece

An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...

 depicts God surrounded by the Twelve Apostles. However, Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot

Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...

 is not present - he is substituted by king Olaf II of Norway

Olaf II of Norway

Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...

with a wild beast under his feet. This symbolizes the triumph of Christianity over paganism in Norway.