Lund Cathedral
Romanesque cathedral of 1145 with a crypt of carved pillars and a medieval astronomical clock.
Lund Cathedral was consecrated in 1145, when Lund was the archiepiscopal seat for the whole of Scandinavia, and it remains the most complete Romanesque church in the Nordic countries. Built of sandstone, it is attributed in part to the master builder Donatus, who brought Lombard forms north. The crypt beneath the choir survives almost unaltered, its forest of carved pillars including the figure known as the giant Finn, a subject of long-standing local legend.
The twin west towers seen today are not medieval: Helgo Zettervall rebuilt the west front between 1860 and 1880 in a heavily restored Romanesque manner that drew criticism even at the time. Inside, the choir is dominated by a golden mosaic of Christ completed by Joakim Skovgaard in 1927. The cathedral's best-known object is the astronomical clock, made around 1425 and restored in 1923, which sets tiny figures of the Magi in motion when it strikes.
Highlights
- Astronomical clock of about 1425, with moving figures twice daily
- Romanesque crypt with richly carved pillars beneath the choir
- Joakim Skovgaard's 1927 golden mosaic in the apse
- Helgo Zettervall's nineteenth-century twin west towers
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