Resmo Church
Church environment
Resmo church and cemetery is located on the west side of Öland on the fault line overseeing the fertile Mörbylånga valley. West of the church is the former elementary school, built in 1868. South of the cemetery and the road towards Kleva is the old junior school from the 1920s. School and education was moved to Mörbylånga in 1955. To the east is the old blacksmith cottage and with the gable as part of the church surrounding wall is the morgue. Previously there was a poor house east of the church. Outside the cemetery in the north the agricultural landscape spreads out with a spectacular view over the Kalmar strait.
The church
Given the findings of the rune stones and parts of a “Eskilstunakista” found in Resmo, the first church in Resmo should have been a wooden church. A stone church, it is believed, was built in 1070, this of a great man named Sweinu and whose name are on a rune stone found in the cemetery. Resmo church is one of the oldest and best preserved on Öland, since it has retained its fundamental layout from the Middle Ages.
Prior to 1750 the sacristy was added and in 1826 the eastern towers top was demolished while the west tower was erected. Today, the restored Church consists of a chancel with apse and an unusually narrow and high nave with windows in both north and south.
In the 1920s, the church was renovated both internally and externally, and in 1931 the church was renovated once again inside and frescos from the 12th, 13th, and the 16th century were restored. Renovations have since been performed on several occasions, for example, 1966, 1987, and in the 1990s. The medieval altar from the 12th century was reinstated in the church to the 900 years anniversary in 2000.
Minneslund
Församlingen har fått tillstånd och har under 2006 påbörjat arbetet med att anlägga en minneslund i kvarter 04 norr om kyrkan.
Memorial grove
At Resmo church there is a memorial grove, description will be added later.
Buildings
The former mortuary located as part of the surroundings in the east and has an entrance from the cemetery.
It is a building of whitewashed limestone. Previously, the building had shingle roofs as in the 1980s still, and probably even now, remains below the roof tiles.
The morgue has wooden doors and above the entrance is in plaster shaped cross. The house is currently used as storage facility. The floor is laid out of limestone and it houses among other things an older altar circle, a rune stone fragments and a tomb which before 1965 was located out at the south portal.
Other
Daniel Sabelström was a farmer in the area and he also owned The Inn in Resmo between the years 1842-1870.
A gravestone from the 18th century to the east of the apse intends the priest Elias Salomon and his wife Maria Cecilia Berghman. During the tapered towering limestone west of it rests dean Israel Ahlqvist, uncle of Abraham Ahlqvist, known for his book on Öland’s history.
Grave location with cast iron fence in the Southeast is for Reverend C Ekvall year 1876th
The cast iron fence around the sea captain Johan Söderlund’s gravesite in the southwestern part of the cemetery is made by Kockums.
Source: Kalmar Läns Museum, Kalmar County Museum
Translation: Visitoland.com