Tjurkö kyrka

The church was constructed in 1876 by prisoners of the Kronoarbetskåren (Crown Labour Corps), reportedly on the orders of consul Frans Herman Wolff, at Herrgårdsviken, the island's stone-cutting centre. Local islanders were permitted to attend services here, having previously had to travel to Kungsholm fort for worship. When the labour corps left the island in 1894, islanders rented the building before the parish was offered ownership in 1929, on condition that it be moved to a new site. The relocation, between Stenbräckagården and the old Tjurkö school, cost around 5,000 kronor at the time, and the church tower and bell were added as part of the move. The church was reconsecrated in 1930 by Bishop Edvard (Edvin) Rodhe.

The move was not without consequences: the ground conditions at the new site were apparently not properly surveyed, and groundwater seeped into the floor timbers over the following decades, causing extensive damp and mould damage. By 2011 the building was considered unsafe and was closed to the public. A major renovation followed, reportedly costing around 8 million kronor, largely funded through ecclesiastical heritage grants from the Church of Sweden and Lund diocese. The church reopened in November 2022, according to one source, with seating for around 150 people; it is used for services as well as, at times, as a summer, camp and retreat church for the archipelago.

Among the church's notable furnishings is an altarpiece painted in 1888 by the convict Abel Andersson of Gävle, based on an original by the Danish painter Carl Bloch. The pulpit, carved in 1664 by the sculptor Lauritz Nilsson and decorated with figures of the four evangelists, originally stood in Hällaryd church in eastern Blekinge before coming to Tjurkö. Various gifts connected to islanders have also been given to the church over the years, including two candelabra said to have belonged to the Finnish field marshal Gustaf Mannerheim, along with a hymn-book cabinet, paintings and a Flemish textile.

A further point of interest is the battle flag and coat of arms of the minesweeper HMS Tjurkö, displayed on one of the church's walls, linking the building to the island's naval and maritime associations.

Lund diocese's antiquarian has described the church as unique both within Blekinge and Sweden more broadly, partly because it is understood to be the diocese's only remaining 'works church' (brukskyrka), built specifically for an industrial or penal workforce rather than a settled parish.