Osterlars Round Church

Osterlars is the biggest and oldest of the four round churches on Bornholm, built in the twelfth century as a thick-walled white drum under a conical roof and propped by heavy stone buttresses added later. Inside, the whole building turns around a hollow central pillar, and the vault of that pillar carries a band of medieval frescoes running the full way round: creation, judgement and figures whose paint has faded to ochre and rust. A narrow stair climbs to the upper storey and the loft above the nave. The church is still in parish use, and the round plan that served as church and refuge in one is particular to this island.

What you actually see

• The central pillar - the hollow round core with its band of medieval frescoes.
• The buttresses - the massive stone props leaning against the outer drum.
• The upper storey - the tight stair to the loft above the nave.
• The conical roof - the whitewashed drum under its steep shingled cap.

When to go

Open to visitors from spring to autumn, with limited hours outside the season and closure for services and funerals. Bring a card or coins for the small entry fee. The interior is dim, so a bright day helps the frescoes, and midday tour groups fill the small round space very quickly.

Honest expectations

It is one room, and twenty minutes covers it unless you read every panel. The frescoes are worn and hard to make out in the low light. The stair to the upper storey is tight, dark and awkward. It is easiest with a car, and the other three round churches are variations on the same idea rather than four separate visits.

Nearby

Gudhjem and its smokehouses are on the coast north; the Nylars and Nyker round churches lie west.