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.

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Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Sören T Eriksson (9 months ago)
Closed!
Kristina Dittmar (12 months ago)
Very beautiful old church ⛪️ Impressive, definitely go in!
Tara family (12 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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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.