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Gamla kyrkan

Address
Annelundsgatan 8, 24430, Kävlinge
Municipality
Kävlinge Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Lund

Gamla kyrkan in Kävlinge is a Romanesque parish church begun in 1157, later abandoned and eventually restored to become one of Skåne's more unusual church survival stories. Built of local fieldstone with sandstone dressings, it stands quietly apart from the modern town it once served.



The church began as a simple apsidal building of grey fieldstone with hewn sandstone corners, raised in the later twelfth century. Over the following two centuries it was substantially remodelled: brick vaulting replaced the original timber ceiling in the choir and nave during the 1300s, porches were added to the north and later the south, and the sturdy west tower was built in the fifteenth century, giving the church much of the silhouette visible today.

Inside, the walls carry medieval wall paintings from two main phases. The oldest, in the apse, date from the fourteenth century and depict the Last Judgement with Christ enthroned as judge of the world. Around 1500 the so-called Lilla Harrie group added further scenes across the choir and nave, including the Creation, the Fall and Expulsion from Paradise, an apostle frieze, and images of the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Three Kings and the Seven Deadly Sins. A figure of Saint Christopher, traditionally regarded as the church's patron, appears on the inside of the chancel arch.

The sandstone font and altar are counted among the most significant furnishings, both believed to date from the church's earliest medieval period; the altar table is known to contain a relic cavity. The carved pulpit, made around 1620–1630 by the Lund craftsman Jakob Kremberg, bears the crowned monogram of the Danish king Christian IV beneath the Danish and Norwegian coats of arms — a striking survival from the period before Skåne became Swedish, when such Danish symbols were generally removed; how it escaped that fate remains uncertain, though one theory suggests the canopy was hidden away. A sexton's pew from the sixteenth century has churchwardens' marks and initials carved into it by generations of parish clerks.//

Unusually for a Swedish parish church, no trace of the nobility survives here: instead it was the village miller and innkeeper who funded much of the decoration and secured burial chambers within the church, a rare arrangement. A well-known local legend concerns a young smith's son said to have signed away his soul to the devil in a blood-written note hidden in the porch wall, in exchange for wealth — a tale tied to eighteenth-century beliefs about the devil haunting the churchyard.

By the 1890s Kävlinge had grown into a railway town needing a larger church, and the new Korsbackakyrkan was built about 250 metres away in 1897. Gamla kyrkan was deconsecrated and slated for demolition, a decision never carried out because it proved too costly. For over fifty years the building served variously as a mortuary chapel, fire station and grain store, while occasional services continued, with collections set aside for eventual restoration. That restoration, led by cathedral architect Eiler Græbe, allowed the church to be reconsecrated by Bishop Anders Nygren in 1957. The churchyard is now protected as a heritage site and is no longer used for burials.

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

  • Toilet
  • Hearing loop
  • Ramp
  • Accessible toilet

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

A listed ramp does not confirm step-free access throughout the building.

Kävlinge församling

Gamla kyrkan

Gamla kyrkan in Kävlinge is a Romanesque parish church begun in 1157, later abandoned and eventually restored to become one of Skåne's more unusual church survival stories. Built of local fieldstone with sandstone dressings, it stands quietly apart from the modern town it once served.

Annelundsgatan 8, 24430, Kävlinge

Explore this church: Gamla kyrkan

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

Östra Karups kyrka

Östra Karups kyrka is a stone church near Båstad, believed to date from the late eleventh or twelfth century and dedicated to St Olof. Once a stopping point on the old pilgrim route towards Norway,…

Postridarens väg, 26941, Östra Karup

View church details: Östra Karups 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 Aug 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: fc020d05-6ba5-4661-8afb-8f59cb4ff7d0

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.