Långlöts Curch
Church environment
The church is located on the northern part of the burial ground used from 200-300 BC and up to the 11th century.
The church is not directly connected to any village, its located on the eastern fault line between the villages Långlöts and Folkeslunda.
South of the church lies the former vicarage, the manor house was built in 1839 and outbuilding 1844. In the courtyard is a memorial stone to the artist Ivan Hoflund from 1962. The vicarage is today a private residence.
Next to the church grounds was in the 19th century also school and poor house. Around the church is farmland.
During the Middle Ages until the mid 16th century was Långlöt a parish. But king Gustav Vasa incorporated Långlöt parish with Runesten in 1545, to where it belonged until 1585. After that Långlöt became an independent parish again and remained so until 1917, when it once again was incorporated with Runesten.
The Church
The first church in Långlöt has probably been a wooden church, a secondary used timber roof truss has been dated to about the year 1080. At the restorations of the present church was also a coin that dated to 1084-1088 found.
The first stone church was built in the early 12th century, and during the 12th and 13th century it was rebuilt and expanded until it became a so called pack-saddle church
In the late 18th century large parts of the medieval church was demolished and today’s church was built. It consists of a spacious nave, with the Romanesque tower preserved in the west. North of the chancel is the sacristy that was built in 1855.
The church walls are cavity walls built of limestone. The church is plastered in white and around the church runs a socle.
Inside the church is a baptismal font in gray limestone from Gotland, which is dated to between late 12th to early 13th century.
Memorial grove
The memorial grove is laid out in the southwestern part of the cemetery. It has a rectangular shape with rounded corners.
In the west it is bounded by the cemetery wall and the east, west and south by a low hedge of cotoneaster.
In the south is a natural stone surrounded by laid limestone slabs. On the stone is engraved memorial grove and around it is a flower bed where flowers are planted. There are also racks for flower vases. Adjacent to the plantation stands a bench to sit down on.
Buildings
As a part of the wall to the north lies a small building which houses both staff rooms and toilets for the cemetery visitors. The house is plastered in white with a tiled roof.
Outside the wall in the northeastern corner is a white painted wooden storage building with a roof of sheet metal.
Other
About 700 m ENE of the church is a triangular field, belonging to the vicarage. It has, according to tradition, been used as cholera or plague cemetery far back in time when the eastern road followed the fault line closer to the Baltic Sea than the present road.
South of the church is a sundial of red, polished limestone, consisting of a baluster shaped shaft with a square foot, the year MDCCCLIV, 1854 are engraved on the dial. An older sundial has been standing in the churchyard before. In 1732 is a payment registered for “timstensstocken” (means like “Time stone log”), the oldest known sun-dial and is today incorporated in the walled late Romanesque south portal.
East of the church is a well in dry stoned limestone covered by a large limestone rock with a square hole in the middle, in which a pump is inserted.
In the 18th century, the well was used as spring water well of the local population. It has also been used as a sacrificial spring
Outside the western cemetery gate stands a poor-box of oak, probably identical with the poor-box that was purchased in 1764. It was restored in the 1970s.
Both the inside and outside of the northern churchyard wall stands tombstones, and along the southern cemetery wall, are more tombstones. All are taken out of service and some completely overgrown by the ivy growing on the cemetery wall.
Source: Kalmar Läns Museum (Kalmar County Museum)
Translation: Visitoland.com