Gärdslösa kyrka

Runestones suggest a wooden church may have stood here as early as the eleventh century, though the present stone church dates from the second half of the twelfth century. The building grew in stages: cross-arms with carved portals were added around the mid-thirteenth century, their vaults attributed to the so-called Gärdslösa Master, and later that century a new chancel was built slightly to the east, notable for its distinctive stepped gable, said to be unique among Öland's churches. The old chancel remained standing until the nave was extended in the early fourteenth century, joining it to the new one, with the sacristy following soon after.

Subsequent changes to the exterior were comparatively modest, chiefly the insertion of round-arched window openings and the rebuilding of the tower's lantern in 1845. Since a renovation of 1957–58 the walls have been rendered and limewashed, except for the north cross-arm, whose varied natural stonework has been left exposed.

The interior is notable for its well-preserved medieval character, including carved column capitals and corbels and layers of wall and vault paintings. Paintings in the chancel dated to 1642 are attributed to Peter Bundi, overlying earlier medieval decoration from 1498 attributed to Magnus Ingelsson. The altarpiece, made in the 1760s and inspired by the one in Kalmar Cathedral, dominates the chancel today.

Most of the memorial slabs once inside the church were moved out to the churchyard during the nineteenth century, though a couple remain in the central aisle. An attempt around fifteen years ago to bring the oldest slab, dated 1311 and commemorating Gärdslösa's first recorded priest, Olaus, back inside resulted in the stone breaking into several pieces, which are kept in the church. Other notable furnishings include a medieval crucifix, a north German Madonna figure from the fifteenth century, and a votive ship modelled on the seventeenth-century warship Nyckeln.

A runestone fragment with a Christian inscription stands in the porch, and a more modest runic inscription, thought to date from after 1250, survives in the plaster of the south cross-arm. According to local tradition, Princess Margaretha of Sweden married John Ambler in this church in 1964, and it remains a popular destination for visitors during the summer months.