Falsterbo kyrka

The oldest part of the church, the nave, dates from the second half of the 14th century, when Falsterbo was a thriving centre of the medieval herring trade and the great Skåne market. It began as a plain, unplastered brick building with a flat timber ceiling. A chancel and tall tower were added later, generally dated to the 15th century, though the Wikipedia source instead places the chancel and current vaults in the 1500s; the two accounts do not fully agree on this point. The stepped gables of the tower are typical of medieval Danish church architecture, a reminder that Skåne remained part of Denmark until 1658.

When vaults were inserted above the nave and chancel, much of the earlier medieval wall painting was destroyed, though some fragments survive and have since been uncovered on the north wall, including an image of Saint Gertrude carrying a church. Two of the original three medieval doorways have been closed up; the south porch was walled in during 1935 and a later porch built against it was demolished.

The church has faced repeated threats from the shifting sand dunes surrounding it. In the mid-1700s there was talk of abandoning it, as had happened with the sand-ravaged church at Kämpinge in the 1600s, and 19th-century accounts describe drifts of sand piled against its walls and the building in a state of considerable decay. It was restored and improved during the 19th and 20th centuries and is now enclosed by a low stone wall, hedging and fencing, with the town park of Falsterbo helping to hold back the sand.},{Inside, the church holds a notable collection of medieval woodcarving, much of it attributed to north German workshops. The font dates from the 14th century, and among the carved figures is a depiction of Saint Christopher, patron of seafarers, from around 1390, attributed to Meister Bertram of Minden. A kneeling princess figure is thought to be the sole survivor of a Saint George group supplied to the church in the early 16th century by the north German sculptor Henning Roleve. Two medieval Madonna figures are also kept here, one traditionally said to be of French origin.

The main altarpiece, at the high altar, is generally attributed to Hermen Rode of Lübeck or his workshop, though sources differ slightly on its precise date, placing it either in the later 15th century or around 1500. A smaller side altarpiece from a similar period stands nearby. The pulpit is dated to the late 16th century. In the chancel stands a bench used by the parish clerk, dated 1572, and a small mechanically working organ installed in 1769, built by the Malmö organ builder Andreas Malmlöf; a larger organ, with a façade carved in the 1920s echoing the smaller instrument, stands near the tower.