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 (7 months ago)
Closed!

Kristina Dittmar (10 months ago)
Very beautiful old church ⛪️ Impressive, definitely go in!

Tara family (10 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 Ninara

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The Church of the Holy Cross

The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).

The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.

The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.

The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.

Gärdslösa Church

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