Stairway to heaven

On my walk today I visited Torslunda church. I've been to a concert there once but never got to see it really. As you may see the name of the church has leant its name from one of our norse gods, 'Tor,' or Thor in english. A 'lund', the second half of the name is Swedish for grove. The full name in englis should be Thors grove, or Thorsgrove church. 

The church as a building started its days during 12th century and has been added to, subtracted from and rebuilt almost every century since then. During pagan times the place is believed to have been a sacred place for the God Thor and in the grove was a sacred well. It's been a place for worship and gatherings ever since. It's situated near the highest point of the island and probably the view were magnificent in the early days when you probably could see the coastline of the mainland as well a the plane leading down to the strait of Kalmar. As was often the case when Christianity gained power it took over the former sacred places and built a church for the new, stronger God, to replace the old ones.

In the gallery, near the organ I found this ladder leading to a hole in the ceiling and assumed it must be the stairway to heaven.

In the evening I went to a garden concert arranged by a friend of mine who is arranging a whole series of concerts during July and August with a variety of artists performing very different music. I usually help with posters and get to see the concerts as a payment for my work. A nice way to finish a Sunday evening.