Hulterstads Kyrka
Historical church in Hulterstad
Hulterstads Kyrka is the church of the small village Hulterstad on the east side of the island of Öland, about 18 kilometers southeast of Mörbylånga.
The present church building dates back to the early nineteenth century and stands on the foundation walls of a three-aisled basilica from the 12th century. The massive church tower of the Hulterstads Kyrka is a remnant of the medieval church, which was fortified in the 13th century.
The position of the pulpit above the altar is not longer very common in Swedish churches. This position was forbidden for new churches by the church office in 1887. Step by step, the pulpits were removed from the altar in most of the older churches and moved to the north side of the sanctuary.
In the northeastern corner of the cemetery is a monument for the more than 800 sailors who perished during the sea battles around Öland, when the ship Kronan exploded on 1 June 1676 near Hulterstad. The wreck of the largest and most heavily armed Swedish warship at that time was found in 1980 by the same wreck divers, who had also discovered the famous Vasa in the harbor of Stockholm in 1950. A still growing number of findings from the ongoing archaeological investigations of the Kronan are displayed in Kalmar Läns Museum .
