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Murals in Ansgar Church 860 AD
What did a Danish church look like more than 1,100 years ago? Were the walls bare and simple, or were worshippers greeted by colourful scenes from the Bible? None of the wooden churches built in Scandinavia during the Viking Age have survived, but historical sources and European church paintings from the same period offer us some clues.
Ansgar's church in Ribe served as the main church for a large congregation in southern Denmark and played a key role in the spread of Christianity northwards. It is therefore reasonable to imagine a magnificent church designed to impress and demonstrate the power of the new faith, not least through its decoration.
In the reconstructed Ansgar Church at Ribe VikingeCenter, the walls are decorated with 50 biblical scenes inspired by Carolingian art of the 9th century. But how do you recreate wall paintings from a time when not a single wooden church has survived in Scandinavia?
This article explores the historical sources of inspiration, the colours of the Viking Age and the painting techniques behind the reconstruction. Download the article here:
