Gärdslösa Church, Borgholm, Öland, Sweden

The Gärdslösa church is the best preserved medieval church on Öland. The western part of the nave as well as the slightly younger western tower was built during the 12th century and the transept was added around 1240. The main restoration was done in 1845.

There is a votive ship of the Swedish Riksnyckeln, which was blasted in a battle between the Danish and Swedish navies in the Kalmar Strait in 1679. On the model is written the year 1691 and it was most likely given to the church the year after that. The model is fully rigged, but restored several times.

References:

Maritime Heritage Atlas of South Baltic

User Reviews

Sören T Eriksson (3 months ago)
Closed!

Kristina Dittmar (6 months ago)
Very beautiful old church ⛪️ Impressive, definitely go in!

Tara family (6 months ago)
Very nice.....

Mats Engström (3 years ago)
Here you can rest peacefully when life is over!

Marie-Louise Sandberg (3 years ago)
Beautiful building.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright discopalace

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Sigmaringen Castle

Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.

Gärdslösa Church

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