Hyby gamla kyrka is what remains of a medieval church at Hyby, in Skåne, dating from the 1100s. A lightning strike in 1873 destroyed most of the building, leaving only the old chancel, whose painted vault survives with scenes of Christ's Passion, the apostles and the Last Judgement.
The original church was dedicated to St Nicolaus and consisted of a long chancel and a nave with two groin vaults, entered through separate doors for men and women. In the 1700s a tower with a notably tall spire was added to the west end. It was this spire that was struck by lightning on 9 September 1873, causing a fire that destroyed most of the building. Rather than rebuild on the same site, the parish constructed Hyby nya kyrka nearby, completed in 1877.
Only the old chancel was retained, with its two crossed vaults - the western one probably contemporary with the original church, the eastern added in the 1400s. The vault paintings, attributed to the anonymous so-called Harrie Master and dated to around 1500, depict the Golgotha scene, the Last Judgement and a series of apostles, including Peter, Paul, Andrew, James the Elder and Philip, with Nicolaus himself appearing in the chancel arch. Earlier accounts from the 1620s describe additional paintings of noble coats of arms in the nave, now lost along with the rest of the medieval structure.
The retained chancel became a burial chapel for the noble Trolle family of nearby Klågerup Castle, who had already been using the church for burials before the fire. Among those interred were three young members of the Trolle family who drowned at Torup in 1775. By 1940 the coffins in the burial vault were judged too decayed to remain above ground and were buried; the chapel was restored to its present appearance in 1951.
A local legend is attached to the church: two noblewomen from Klågerup are said to have become engaged to two knights from Hyby, who rejected them on returning from war. In revenge the women killed the knights during a Christmas service in the church, then travelled to Rome to seek the Pope's forgiveness. Absolution was granted, but the church itself was placed under a seven-year ban, during which services had to be held outdoors at a site known as Ellebjär.
The present organ was acquired in 1951 from the chapel of Ørslev Castle in Denmark, where it had originally been built in the 1700s; it has since been rebuilt more than once. It replaced two earlier instruments, including a 1762 organ funded by the Trolle family that once stood in the church.
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Hyby gamla kyrka is what remains of a medieval church at Hyby, in Skåne, dating from the 1100s. A lightning strike in 1873 destroyed most of the building, leaving only the old chancel, whose painted vault survives with scenes of Christ's Passion, the apostles and the Last Judgement.
Hyby kyrkoväg 39, 233 75, Klågerup
Explore this church: Hyby gamla kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
Eringsboda kyrka is a wooden church in the village of Eringsboda, Blekinge, designed by Johan Adolf Hawerman and built in the late 1840s to replace an earlier 18th-century chapel on the same site.
Vävarevägen 3, 372 78, Eringsboda
View church details: Eringsboda kyrkaGårdstånga kyrka is a medieval church set beside the winding Kävlingeån river in the Skåne countryside. Dating from the 1100s, it is best known for its richly carved wooden furnishings by the master carver Jakob…
Gårdstånga kyrka 1, 247 97, Eslöv
View church details: Gårdstånga kyrkaLocation and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
Hässleholm
View church details: Hässleholms begravningskapellLocation and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
Oderljungavägen 36
View church details: Perstorps prästgårdSources, credits and English adaptations are identified on each church page. Provider data: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0.
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: 17 Dec 2025. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: 9ad934d8-c54b-4dfe-b944-6b657c66507c
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.