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Sundre kyrka

Municipality
Gotland
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Visby

Sundre kyrka is a medieval stone church in the parish of Hoburg, standing in Sundre — Gotland's southernmost and one of its smallest parishes. Built in the thirteenth century, it is notable above all for once housing what is claimed to be the world's oldest known organ.



The present church likely replaced a wooden predecessor from the late twelfth century. The nave and chancel were built in the first half of the thirteenth century, with the tower added somewhat later, around the mid-1200s. A sacristy was not added until 1870, and the church underwent restoration in 1931 and again in 1969–70, the latter uncovering a medieval passion frieze in the nave, thirteenth-century ornamental paintings in the chancel, and a seventeenth-century painting in the triumphal arch.

Built in Romanesque style largely of sandstone, the church has whitewashed walls with limestone corner dressings and steep, board-clad saddle roofs over nave and chancel. The tower carries colonnetted sound openings over two storeys and a short octagonal spire. Of its three doorways, the nave's southern portal serves as the main entrance and retains an old holy-water stoup in its inner recess.

Inside, the nave is covered by two cross-vaults and retains medieval side altars in its north-east and south-east corners, along with the fifteenth-century passion frieze along the south wall. A pointed archway leads into the vaulted chancel, which has four niches, one still fitted with an iron-bound medieval door. Notable furnishings include a thirteenth-century wooden sculpture of the grieving Virgin Mary on the north side altar, a fifteenth-century triumphal crucifix, and an early nineteenth-century round pulpit. The nave window contains stained glass designed by Professor Einar Forseth, installed in 1969, and the altarpiece is a reconstruction of a fourteenth-century retable.

The church's most celebrated association is with the Sundre organ, said to have been built in 1370 by Master Verner of Brandenburg — reputedly the oldest known organ in the world. It no longer stands in the church but is preserved, together with the Norrlanda organ, at the Historical Museum in Stockholm. The current organ in use at Sundre dates from 1843, built by Pehr Zacharias Strand for the Royal Opera in Stockholm, with a smaller mechanical organ added in 1978 and restored in the 2000s.

Just north-east of the church stands a round medieval defensive tower, or kastal, some 15 metres in diameter and 13 metres high, built of hewn sandstone, with a round-arched doorway several metres above ground level and traces of old gun-loops near its top. South-west of the church lie the ruins of a medieval rectory.

Opening hours

Opening hours have not been confirmed for the current date. This does not mean the church is closed.

Check access with the parish before travelling. Services and seasonal changes can affect visits.

Contact & official information

Hoburgs församling

Hoburgs församling

Sundre kyrka

Sundre kyrka is a medieval stone church in the parish of Hoburg, standing in Sundre — Gotland's southernmost and one of its smallest parishes. Built in the thirteenth century, it is notable above all for once housing what is claimed to be the world's oldest known organ.

Explore this church: Sundre 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

Stenkyrka kyrka

Stenkyrka kyrka, in the parish of Stenkyrka on Gotland, is traditionally said to be the earliest church of the island's northern third, according to the medieval Gutasaga. Its long building history and rich medieval wall…

View church details: Stenkyrka kyrka
Basic listing

Rute kyrka

Rute kyrka is a medieval parish church on Gotland, within the Bunge, Rute and Fleringe parish of the Diocese of Visby. Dating largely from the 13th century, it is notable for its extensive early vaulted…

Rute kyrka, 624 58, Lärbro

View church details: Rute kyrka
Basic listing

Gerums kyrka

Gerums kyrka is a medieval parish church on Gotland, in the Church of Sweden's diocese of Visby. Serving Gerum parish, it is a modest rural church notable for its unusual tower and richly painted interior…

Fardhems Prästgård, 62352, HEMSE

View church details: Gerums kyrka
Basic listing

Väskinde kyrka

Väskinde kyrka stands at the heart of its village a few miles north-east of Visby on Gotland. This medieval limestone church, with its distinctive tower and gothic windows, holds well-preserved medieval wall paintings and a…

Väskinde kyrka, 622275, Visby

View church details: Väskinde 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: 26 Jan 2024. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 1efb3cc0-2de2-4539-b970-0be420701307

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.

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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.