Björn's Tomb from Botkyrka Church

3D Model

Hewn from one single sandstone block in the 12th century. It has the shape of a church. The monument was moved to the Royal Antiquarian Collections in 1816 and later to the Swedish History Museum.

On one side the motif depicts the Judgement Day. Christ is seen standing in the middle, beckoning the faithful. The man rising from a grave to the right is believed to be Björn.

The Latin text is a plea to the reader: “You, who read this and are ignorant, know that a noble man lies here; I impeach you, Christ, to say: may he, Björn, be pure from sin.”

An ancient Nordic text in runes tells that “Karl made this stone for Björn, of his kin, Sven’s and Bänkfrid’s son in Hammarby.” Björn Svensson founded the first church in Botkyrka as an homage to his brother, the martyr Botvid.

The tomb is decorated in Romanesque style with floral patterns and elongated figures. The style has some similarities with the altar from Broddetorp in the History Museum.

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