Stora Köpinge Church

Stora Köpinge Kyrka, which dates from the early 12th century, is the relatively lavishly decorated church in the small village of Stora Köpinge. The reason why the church in Stora Köpinge is unusually magnificent for the village, which is only inhabited by around 120 people, is that the village on the Nybroån river was an important trading post before Ystad was founded. At the beginning of the 12th century, the nave of the church was built and the vaulted ceiling was decorated with the frescoes that have survived to this day. Towards the end of the 12th century, the lower recessed chancel was added along with the semicircular apse. At the same time, work began on widening the nave, although this extension was only carried out on the eastern half of this part of the building. It is assumed that the declining importance of Stora Köpinge due to the founding of the city of Ystad was responsible for the stop of the expansion. Nonetheless, the vaulted ceilings in the eastern half of the nave, the chancel and the apse were decorated with splendid paintings in the late 14th century. They are attributed to the so-called Snårestadmästaren, an anonymous group of church painters who decorated several churches in the central and eastern part of southern Skåne. The altarpiece, created in 1610 with its exceptionally magnificent carvings, is considered the most important object of historical church art within the Stora Köpinge Kyrka.
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