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Bollerups kyrka

Address
Bollerup 101, 273 91, Tomelilla
Municipality
Tomelilla Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Lund

Bollerups kyrka stands beside the medieval Bollerup castle in Skåne, its oldest parts dating from the 12th century. With its distinctive round tower and remarkable 15th-century wall paintings, it is one of a small group of surviving round-towered churches in the region.



The church's nave, chancel and apse were built in the 1100s, with the round west tower added slightly later, all constructed from hewn local limestone. It is one of only four Skåne churches known to retain a round tower of this type, alongside those at Blentarp, Hammarlunda and Hammarlöv. Tradition holds that the Due family, an old Danish noble line who owned the Bollerup estate from around 1130, were responsible for the original building, though this is not firmly documented.

Brick vaults were inserted in the first half of the 15th century, and in 1476 the church was richly decorated with wall paintings, funded by the noblewoman Barbara Brahe and her son Oluf Stigsen Krogenos. The paintings depict scenes including John the Baptist with angels, the dead rising from their graves, tormented sinners in hell, and the saved being welcomed at the gates of heaven. According to tradition, Barbara Brahe had made a pilgrimage in 1475 with the Danish queen and secured a papal indulgence connected to services held in her churches, which is said to have prompted the commissioning of these paintings. The murals were later whitewashed in 1536 and were not rediscovered and conserved until the 1950s and 1960s.

Among the church's furnishings, the font is of a type made around 1200 and is thought to be among the oldest items in the building. The elaborately carved altarpiece, featuring so-called cartilage ornamentation, dates from 1650, and the richly carved and painted pulpit is attributed to the first half of the 1600s, in a Renaissance style.

A burial chapel was added in 1649 with support from the Rantzau family, though it was demolished in 1869. Further restoration work took place in the mid-18th century, including a new canopy for the pulpit and new silverware. Between 1869 and 1874 the church was substantially enlarged with the addition of the present chancel, transepts and an apse-shaped sacristy.

Historically, worshippers entered through separate doors on the south and north sides of the nave, traditionally used by men and women respectively, and stone benches along the walls were reserved for the elderly, with everyone else expected to stand through services. The current organ, a mechanical instrument, was built in 1966, replacing an earlier organ of unknown origin.

Opening hours

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

Additional opening information is awaiting translation. Check the official visitor-information link before travelling.

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

Facilities & accessibility

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  • Toilet

Listed by the provider; availability has not been independently checked. An unlisted facility is not necessarily unavailable.

Smedstorps församling

Bollerups kyrka

Bollerups kyrka stands beside the medieval Bollerup castle in Skåne, its oldest parts dating from the 12th century. With its distinctive round tower and remarkable 15th-century wall paintings, it is one of a small group of surviving round-towered churches in the region.

Bollerup 101, 273 91, Tomelilla

Explore this church: Bollerups 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

Tomelilla kyrka

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Adelsbergsvägen 1, 273 32, Tomelilla

View church details: Tomelilla kyrka
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Maglarps kyrka

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231 93, Trelleborg

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Hammenhögs kyrka

Hammenhögs kyrka, in the village of Hammenhög in Skåne, replaced a medieval church that had grown too small for its congregation. Plans for a simple extension went badly wrong, leading to a complete rebuilding that…

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View church details: Hammenhögs kyrka
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Vä kyrka

Vä kyrka, dedicated to St Mary, stands in the village of Vä near Kristianstad in Skåne. Built in the twelfth century as a royal patronage church, it served a thriving medieval town before that settlement's…

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View church details: Vä 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: 24 Jun 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: d07a070e-8273-47db-8a8f-fde9a198d8c8

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.