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Valleberga kyrka

Address
Österlenvägen 489, 27178, Löderup
Municipality
Ystads Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Lund

Valleberga kyrka, in the Skåne village of Valleberga, is unusual in combining Scania's only surviving medieval round church with a large early twentieth-century extension. Together the two parts, now joined by a glass wall, give the parish two distinct worship spaces under one roof.



The round church was built of limestone in the mid-1100s, though scholars disagree on whether its circular form was original or whether an earlier cruciform structure was rebuilt into a rotunda. Some accounts link its construction to the Danish bishop Eskil of Lund, though this remains a theory rather than an established fact. In 1343 the interior was remodelled with vaulting to look more like a cross-church, for reasons that are not recorded, and medieval wall paintings from the following century survive from this period.

By the late eighteenth century the round church had become too small for the growing congregation, and in 1791 it was enlarged with three cross-arms designed by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz, all but hiding the original rotunda. This arrangement lasted until the turn of the twentieth century, when parish leaders proposed demolishing the old church and its detached tower entirely in favour of a new brick building. Heritage authorities objected, and the architect Theodor Wåhlin, once he realised the medieval rotunda survived within the later additions, revised his plans to preserve and incorporate it. The eighteenth-century cross-arms were removed, the round church restored, and a substantial new nave and tower added to the west in a Jugendstil idiom. The rebuilt church was reconsecrated on 12 June 1910. A further renovation completed in 2004 moved the altar from the round church into the main church and inserted the glass partition that now divides, yet visually connects, the two spaces.

The church's outstanding treasure is its font, carved in sandstone around 1160–1170 by the so-called Tryde Master. Its reliefs depict a legend concerning the apostles Peter and Paul, the emperor Nero and the magician Simon, and it is regarded as one of the most important Romanesque fonts in the region.

Other furnishings include a carved altar cabinet from the early sixteenth century, with figures of the apostles surrounding central images of Peter and Paul, and a pulpit of 1619 bearing the monogram of the Danish king Christian IV, whose maker is unrecorded.

Beside the church stands a freestanding fifteenth-century kastal, a fortified tower that once formed part of a defensive wall encircling the church. Parishioners wished to demolish it when the new church was built, but national heritage authorities intervened and it survives. Inside are several carved gravestones attributed to the Tryde Master, an unfinished rune stone, and carved stones thought to have come from the church's former door surrounds.

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.

Facilities & accessibility

  • Parking
  • Toilet
  • Ramp

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

A listed ramp does not confirm step-free access throughout the building.

Löderups församling

Valleberga kyrka

Valleberga kyrka, in the Skåne village of Valleberga, is unusual in combining Scania's only surviving medieval round church with a large early twentieth-century extension. Together the two parts, now joined by a glass wall, give the parish two distinct worship spaces under one roof.

Österlenvägen 489, 27178, Löderup

Explore this church: Valleberga kyrka

Church information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.

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View church details: Fjälkestads kyrka
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Östra Broby kyrka

Östra Broby kyrka stands in the village of Broby in Skåne, part of Broby-Emmislövs församling within the Diocese of Lund. The present building dates from 1932, but a church has stood on this site for…

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View church details: Östra Broby 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: 29 Apr 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 79dd2e0f-c309-4fa9-8749-ddf73998335f

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.