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Atlingbo kyrka

Address
Eskelhem Prästgården 181
Municipality
Gotland
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Visby

Atlingbo kyrka is a medieval parish church on Gotland, part of Vall, Hogrän och Atlingbo församling within Visby diocese. According to old Gutalagen tradition it once served as an asylum church, offering forty days' sanctuary to those who had committed manslaughter and their families.



Excavations beneath the current floor have revealed the foundations of an earlier church dating from the mid-1100s, thought to be among the oldest stone churches on Gotland. The present square chancel, with its unusual apse built on a pointed rather than semicircular plan, was raised at the start of the 1200s. The nave and the base of an intended tower, never completed, followed by the century's end. The tower's unfinished walls later supported a spire containing the bell chamber, which appears from outside as a ridge turret riding the nave roof.

The building is constructed of rendered limestone and has three carved doorways: a Romanesque portal on the chancel's south side, an imposing Gothic south portal with a pointed gable crest and sculpted capital bands on the nave, and a Gothic north portal leading into the tower's base. Several original features survive, including the three windows of the apse, the nave's south windows, and a round tracery window in the west wall of the base chamber. A stone holy water stoup, built into the wall of the nave portal, is also original. The wide chancel arch links the spacious apse-chancel with the single-aisled nave, itself divided into two bays by a ribbed transverse arch resting on corbels.

Inside, the wooden altarpiece dates from the 1600s, while the pulpit was made by Rasmus Felderman in 1693, its bold painted decoration added later in 1758. The box pews were installed during the 1700s. The sandstone font, with its octagonal, relief-carved bowl, has been attributed to the twelfth-century master craftsman known as Byzantios, though such attributions from this period carry some uncertainty.

The church underwent a substantial restoration in 1956–1957 under the direction of architect Olle Karth. Its small organ, built in 1892 by Åkerman & Lund, was altered in 1975 and later restored by the same firm in 2003; visitors with an interest in church organs may find its history of note, though the technical specification is not detailed here.

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.

Vall, Hogrän och Atlingbo församling

Atlingbo kyrka

Atlingbo kyrka is a medieval parish church on Gotland, part of Vall, Hogrän och Atlingbo församling within Visby diocese. According to old Gutalagen tradition it once served as an asylum church, offering forty days' sanctuary to those who had committed manslaughter and their families.

Eskelhem Prästgården 181

Explore this church: Atlingbo 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

Visborgskyrkan

Visborgskyrkan is the parish church serving the southern districts of Visby, on the island of Gotland. Built in the 1960s and consecrated in 1969, it combines a worship space with parish premises and stands as…

Stenkumlaväg 14, 621 47, VISBY

View church details: Visborgskyrkan
Basic listing

Gammelgarns kyrka

Gammelgarns kyrka is a medieval parish church on Gotland, part of Östergarn parish in the Diocese of Visby. Standing beside a rare surviving defence tower, it offers visitors a striking combination of Romanesque origins, Gothic…

623 67, Katthammarsvik

View church details: Gammelgarns 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: 56b5039a-c308-4e4a-a673-0028c4d7ebab

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.

Suggest a correction

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.