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Christiansø church was first consecrated in 1685 when the island's fortifications were completed. Serving the garrison, it was initially located in a small floor room in the fortification tower where it was used until 1821. It was then moved some two hundred metres to the east to its present location on an irregular quadrangular plot surrounded by fieldstone walls.
The small rectangular granite building was rebuilt and enlarged in 1852, a porch being added on the western side. Comprehensive restoration work was undertaken in 1928 under architect Christian Olrik. The main entrance was widened and a gallery was added inside. The four straight-sided windows on either side of the nave were slightly reduced in size and given a rounded finish. The ceiling consists of a plastered, wooden barrel vault.
In the south-west corner of the churchyard there is a free-standing bell tower with two bells. Typical of the Bornholm style, it consists of a fieldstone base and a half-timbered belfry.
References:The Externsteine (Extern stones) is a distinctive sandstone rock formation located in the Teutoburg Forest, near the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. Archaeological excavations have yielded some Upper Paleolithic stone tools dating to about 10,700 BC from 9,600 BC.
In a popular tradition going back to an idea proposed to Hermann Hamelmann in 1564, the Externsteine are identified as a sacred site of the pagan Saxons, and the location of the Irminsul (sacral pillar-like object in German paganism) idol reportedly destroyed by Charlemagne; there is however no archaeological evidence that would confirm the site's use during the relevant period.
The stones were used as the site of a hermitage in the Middle Ages, and by at least the high medieval period were the site of a Christian chapel. The Externsteine relief is a medieval depiction of the Descent from the Cross. It remains controversial whether the site was already used for Christian worship in the 8th to early 10th centuries.
The Externsteine gained prominence when Völkisch and nationalistic scholars took an interest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This interest peaked under the Nazi regime, when the Externsteine became a focus of nazi propaganda. Today, they remain a popular tourist destination and also continue to attract Neo-Pagans and Neo-Nazis.