Skip to main content

Gualövs kyrka

Address
Byvägen 1B, 29572, Gualöv
Municipality
Bromölla Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Lund

Gualövs kyrka, standing west of the village of Gualöv in Skåne, dates from the later twelfth century. Visitors come chiefly for its remarkable medieval wall paintings, a rare medieval altar cabinet, and Renaissance-style font and pulpit.



The church was built as a typical Romanesque structure of chancel, apse and nave in the late 1100s, with vaulting and a south porch added in the 1400s. The nave was extended westward in 1833. Unusually for a church in Skåne, it has no tower; instead a freestanding wooden bell-frame, built in the eighteenth century, stands nearby.

The most celebrated survival is the painting in the chancel arch vault, dated to the second half of the twelfth century. It depicts two figures connected with the church's construction, though sources differ on their names and relationship: one account names them as Ucitus and Hialmvith, with an accompanying inscription describing Ucitus commissioning the decoration in memory of the deceased Hialmvith; another version names them as the nobleman Hugitus and his wife Hialmsvith, commemorated by him. Either way, the painting is thought to have been made between about 1150 and 1200.

Later medieval paintings, attributed to the so-called Fjälkinge Master and dated to around 1475, cover the vaults of chancel and nave. They include a Last Judgement scene with Christ enthroned on a rainbow, the blessed entering heaven and the damned cast into the mouth of hell; the three sainted Nordic kings Olav, Knud and Erik, reflecting the era of the Kalmar Union; Skåne's patron Saint Lawrence with his gridiron; and a wheel of fortune symbolising the fleeting nature of worldly happiness. These paintings were whitewashed over during the Reformation and only rediscovered and restored during renovation work in the early 1950s.  The chancel vault also carries depictions of the four archangels.

Among the furnishings, the altarpiece is attributed to the sculptor Gustav Kihlman and dated to 1704, showing a crucifixion flanked by Moses and John the Baptist. A north-wall altar cabinet, made in northern Germany around 1510, once carried rich polychrome decoration, of which only fragments of gilding and red pigment now remain. The Renaissance-style pulpit and font both date from the late seventeenth century. During restoration in 1952 a small relic cavity was found within the altar, said to date from the church's original consecration. A wooden calvary group, thought to date from around the mid-thirteenth century and once positioned in the chancel arch before being removed at the Reformation, is now kept at Lund University's historical museum.

The church's organ, built in 1952 by Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri, replaced an earlier harmonium and was itself renovated in 1985.

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

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

Bromölla pastorat

Gualövs kyrka

Gualövs kyrka, standing west of the village of Gualöv in Skåne, dates from the later twelfth century. Visitors come chiefly for its remarkable medieval wall paintings, a rare medieval altar cabinet, and Renaissance-style font and pulpit.

Byvägen 1B, 29572, Gualöv

Explore this church: Gualövs 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

Tottarps kyrka

Tottarps kyrka, in the village of Tottarp in Skåne, has its origins in the 1100s, though its present appearance owes much to two later rebuildings, most notably one led by professor Carl Georg Brunius in…

Tottarpsvägen 35, 245 93, Staffanstorp

View church details: Tottarps kyrka
Basic listing

Bredåkra kyrka

Bredåkra kyrka is a parish church near Ronneby in Blekinge, built primarily to serve the large local cemetery. Its story is a long one: the land was set aside in the 1850s, but the church…

Eringsbodavägen 3 B, 372 92, Kallinge

View church details: Bredåkra 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: 25 May 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 8252cc9d-ef5c-4f84-a5df-2a28587a589b

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.