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The roofless remains of St. Magnus Church stand on the western side of Egilsay – dominating the island on which St Magnus was executed early in the 12th century.
Built towards the end of the 12th century, the church is made up of a rectangular nave and a square chancel, with a tall round tower on the western end. Despite the lack of a roof, the remains are still in good condition.
The structure lost its roof sometime in the mid to late 19th century. An early 19th sketch shows a stone roof over kirk’s nave, chancel and tower.
It is thought that the kirk was built on the spot of an earlier church – the one mentioned in the sagas as the site of Earl Magnus’ murder in 1115, 1116, 1117 or 1118.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.