The church was built in the thirteenth century, one of many stone churches raised across Gotland in that period. Its fortunes declined from as early as the sixteenth century, when the building began to fall into disrepair, and it was eventually abandoned altogether during the seventeenth century.
Rather than being restored to use, the structure was left to decay for centuries until 1923, when the ruin was conserved to halt further deterioration. A rebuilding of the church was considered at one stage but never carried out, leaving the site as a preserved ruin rather than a working church.
Among the surviving fragments visitors can still see remains of the old font, a modest but tangible link to the building's original liturgical furnishings. Little else of the interior survives, reflecting the long period of neglect before conservation work began.
Despite the loss of the church building itself, the surrounding churchyard has continued to serve as a burial place, giving the ruin an ongoing connection to the local community even in its abandoned state.