Marsvinsholms kyrka

The church stands on land that once belonged to Balkåkra parish, where a church had existed since the twelfth century. In 1773 Ebba Christina Siöblad, then owner of Marsvinsholm, acquired patronage rights over the churches of Balkåkra and Snårestad — a role that combined financial responsibility for church property with considerable influence over parish affairs. Her son, Eric Ruuth, a prominent financier and industrialist, later sought and gained similar rights over Skårby church too, with the ambition of replacing all three ageing buildings with a single grand church on the estate. Royal approval came in 1787, but Ruuth's financial difficulties meant the new church was not completed until nearly a century later.

Construction eventually went ahead under Baron (Ryttmästare) Jules Stiernblad, who personally funded the building as patron. Sources differ slightly on dates: one account gives construction as 1862–1867 to designs by Christian Zwingmann, with consecration on 17 November 1867; another simply records the church as consecrated in 1867. The new building was intended to replace the three older parish churches. Of these, Balkåkra fell into ruin, Snårestad was demolished and later rebuilt to its old plans in 1925, while Skårby's church survived and is now a protected heritage building.

The church is substantial: reports give its length as 50 metres, its width as 17 metres, and its tower height as 60 metres. It originally provided seating for around 1,000 people, a capacity later reduced once the galleries were closed off. The tall red-brick exterior, in an Italian Renaissance-influenced style, encloses vaults rising some 15 metres.

Inside, the light, restrained interior draws the eye towards the altar, where a plaster copy of Bertel Thorvaldsen's well-known statue of Christ stands at full scale, said to be around 3.3 metres tall. The church also has an organ with a layered history: an original 1869 instrument by Daniel Köhne was rebuilt in 1876, before being replaced by a new pneumatic organ in 1913, later reworked again in 1966.

The names of both castle and church derive from Otte Marsvin, who demolished an earlier manor house to build Marsvinsholm as a monument to himself. Marsvin is the Danish word for a porpoise, and porpoise motifs can still be found on a memorial shield in the chancel and on the capitals of the pillars supporting the church's vaults.