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Hablingbo kyrka

Municipality
Gotland
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Visby

Hablingbo kyrka is a medieval church in the Havdhem parish on southern Gotland, within the Diocese of Visby. It ranks among the island's largest churches and preserves work from both the Romanesque and Gothic periods.



The oldest surviving part of the church is the tower, built of dressed sandstone around 1200 as part of an earlier Romanesque core church. In the mid-1300s the present Gothic nave and chancel were added, followed by a sacristy on the north side of the chancel in 1730. The chancel is whitewashed inside, while the nave and tower show bare stone walls, and the tower is topped with a simple pyramid-shaped spire thought to resemble the original.

When the Gothic nave was built, stonework from the earlier Romanesque church was reused, including reliefs from a round-arch frieze now set into the south wall. The north portal survives from that original church and is regarded as one of Sweden's most notable Romanesque monuments: it carries a relief depicting the story of Cain and Abel, attributed to the anonymous twelfth-century sculptor known as Majestatis. The carved surrounds of the south portals are thought to be the work of the fourteenth-century 'Egypticus' workshop, and the nave portal's grotesque face masks are of particular interest.

Inside, the nave is covered by six cross vaults supported on two massive columns with sculpted capitals, again attributed to the Egypticus workshop, featuring stylised face masks. The bell chamber in the tower has a low Romanesque cross vault, and a wide, gently pointed opening leads into the vaulted chancel, where fragments of wall paintings, probably from the mid-1400s, can still be seen.

Among the furnishings, a runic picture stone from the eleventh century stands in the bell chamber. The font dates from the 1600s and replaced a medieval font whose damaged base remains in the church. The sandstone altarpiece was made in 1643 by the sculptor Peter van Eghen and his son Gert van Eghen, while the late seventeenth-century pulpit is possibly the work of the Visby joiner Jochim Sterling. The church was restored in 1891 and 1956, and its mechanical organ was built in 1866 by Per Larsson Åkerman of Stockholm.

Opening hours

Opening hours have not been confirmed for the current date. This does not mean the church is closed.

Check access with the parish before travelling. Services and seasonal changes can affect visits.

Contact & official information

Havdhems församling

Havdhems församling

Hablingbo kyrka

Hablingbo kyrka is a medieval church in the Havdhem parish on southern Gotland, within the Diocese of Visby. It ranks among the island's largest churches and preserves work from both the Romanesque and Gothic periods.

Explore this church: Hablingbo kyrka

Church information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.

Other churches in the same diocese

Basic listing

Ala kyrka

Ala kyrka is a medieval parish church in Ala socken, part of Östergarn parish on Gotland, set within open farmland beside the road from Ljugarn. Founded in the twelfth century, it has survived rebuilding, fire…

623 71, Katthammarsvik

View church details: Ala kyrka

Sources & credits

Provider catalogue data: Svenska kyrkan, Platser, CC BY 4.0. Separately credited descriptions retain their stated source and licence terms. Catalogue and visiting data reformatted from the provider. The English guide combines and abridges separately credited sources below.

Provider record updated: 26 Jan 2024. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: bbd7b86c-2323-4421-8c51-af7fcd2ffaa9

Guide sources

This English guide combines, abridges and translates the sources below with AI assistance, with editorial contributions by Churches in Sweden. It has not been independently verified. The adapted guide text is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photographs and map data have their own terms.

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Church data retrieved 24 Sep 2026. Visiting details have not been independently verified.

Sources, licences & reuse

Independent guide

Churches in Sweden is an independent guide. It is not an official Svenska kyrkan website and does not imply sponsorship or endorsement.

Church information

Source: Svenska kyrkan — Platser, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. English adaptations by Churches in Sweden are identified on each profile. Our adaptations solely from Platser are offered under CC BY 4.0. Guides combining Wikipedia with other compatible sources are identified individually and offered under CC BY-SA 4.0; this covers that guide text, not the whole website. Separately credited third-party material retains its stated terms. Independently written descriptions are identified on their profiles. Imported material has not been independently verified. Original names and visiting details are retained; presentation is reformatted. Each profile identifies its source record and any additional supplied credits.

You may reuse the licensed church material under CC BY 4.0, including commercially, with the required attribution, licence link and indication of changes. No additional site restriction overrides those rights. The licence does not automatically cover separately credited images or map data.

Provider disclaimer

Svenska kyrkan supplies Platser data without guaranteeing that it is correct, current, complete across its organisation, or always available. The material is provided as-is and as-available, subject to the licence’s disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability.

Svenska kyrkan kan ej garantera att den data som finns i Platser:
– är korrekt.
– är aktuell.
– är komplett för hela Svenska kyrkans organisation.
– alltid är tillgänglig.

Preserved provider agreement · Full licence

Automatic diocese associations use the organisation codes from Svenska kyrkan UnitAPI. An association does not establish ownership or denomination. External editorial sources are credited separately.

Map and photographs

Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL and © OpenMapTiles. Tiles and style are served by World Class Maps. Map rendering uses MapLibre GL JS. The map’s own attribution remains visible.

Photographs are credited individually with their own licence or permission. The API data licence does not automatically cover photographs. No images are imported automatically.