Lund Cathedral

Lund Cathedral (Swedish: Lunds domkyrka) is the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the bishop of Lund of the Church of Sweden. Until the Danish Reformation, it was the Catholic (archi)episcopal see of the Diocese of Lund (first a suffragan of Bremen in Germany, soon Metropolitan for much of Scandinavia), dedicated to Saint Lawrence.

History

Lund was an important town long before there was a cathedral. Lund was the site of the Skåne Assembly (Danish: landsting) at St Liber's Hill into the Middle Ages. It was also the site of a pre-Christian religious center.

A cathedral was built in Lund before 1085, but it is difficult to know if the present building was built in the same place. In the gift letter of Canute the Holy, dated to 21 May 1085, there is a mention of a cathedral built during the 1080s. Canute gave several properties that enabled the building of the cathedral. However, sources indicate that Canute's cathedral is not the present Lund Cathedral. The Cathedral School was established in 1085, making it Scandinavia's oldest school.

King Eric I of Denmark went to Rome on a pilgrimage and secured two important concessions from Pope Pascal II: sainthood for his murdered brother, Saint Canute IV and the creation of an archdiocese that included all of Scandinavia. Lund was named as the headquarters. Bishop Asser Thorkilsson became the first archbishop for all of Scandinavia in 1104 and the cathedral was begun sometime after he took office. The building was constructed in the typical basilica style with half-rounded arches supporting a flat timber ceiling. The cathedral was constructed out of blocks of sandstone from a quarry near Höör. The high altar of the crypt was consecrated in 1123. The cathedral and the high altar were consecrated to St Lawrence on 1 September 1145 by Archbishop Eskil, Asser's successor. Of the present church only the apse has remained unchanged.

Lund became the religious heart of Denmark and over the years many monasteries, nunneries, priories sprang up around the...