Backen Church

Västerbotten · Schweden · Church

The giants Skacken and Skeven built the church for the promise of sun and moon – until the priest overheard their names whispered in the forest.

The parish church of Umeå by the Ume river was, according to legend, built by two giants named Skacken and Skeven. The priest had promised them the sun and the moon in payment. They fetched stone from the south side of the river and hurled it up towards the ridge; the first stone rolled down to the very spot where the church now stands, and there they built. When the church was finished and the cross was to be raised, the priest went uneasily into the forest – and there he heard a child crying and a mother saying: "Hush, my child, tomorrow Skacken and Skeven will come with the sun and the moon!" The priest went home, and just as the giants were setting up the cross he called out their names, for he knew they could not bear to hear their own names spoken: "Skacken and Skeven! The cross does not stand straight!" At that they fell down and were killed. The legend was recorded at Sorsele in 1942, from a narrator who had seen the church himself.

FAQ

Wo befindet sich Backen Church?

Backen Church liegt in Västerbotten, Schweden.