The monastery site, church and traces of early settlement offer different historical perspectives in Tommarp. If you are planning a stay focused on cultural history, the story spans everything from the medieval monastery to the later railway settlement. The open agricultural landscape around Östra Tommarp is also part of the picture.

Monastery site and church

Around 1150, a Premonstratensian monastery was established in Thumatorp. The church village of Östra Tommarp lies beside the old monastery site. Klosterplatsen is an open square measuring about 40 × 40 metres; the ruins of the large monastery are partly hidden there. A church portal excavated at Klosterplatsen in the summer of 1999 can be viewed there. Check the current conditions on site before your visit.

The church of Östra Tommarp was completed in 1857, replacing the S.ta Maria Church, which had probably stood on this site since the 12th century. Its exterior features include stepped gables and a decoratively designed cornice. The five panels of the pulpit depict carved figures of Christ and the four Evangelists. These panels come from an older pulpit dating from the beginning of the 17th century. The building and its carved furnishings thus represent different periods.

Landscape and local history

Östra Tommarp lies in a gently rolling, open agricultural landscape. South of the church village, the Tommarpsån flows through a pronounced valley. West of the church village, an old lime kiln stands near the river. It adds evidence of former lime-making to the history of the church and monastery; the valley and open fields provide a contrasting landscape.

The settlement history also goes back a long way: the early settlement in Tommarp covered an area of 140 × 250 metres and included longhouses and pit houses. In the 18th century, farms were still arranged along the street pattern of the medieval town. A railway settlement developed north of the church village after a station was built in the 1880s. These stages of local history can be considered separately: early dwelling forms, inherited street patterns and later development north of the church village.

Plan visits to museums and your journey

The old schoolhouse in Tommarp was built in 1727. The old schoolhouse in Östra Tommarp houses a school museum, a parish museum and a monastery museum. The three institutions have different thematic focuses: school history, the parish and the monastery. Check in advance whether a visit is possible on your travel dates, and plan accordingly.

The train stops in the neighbouring village of Gärsnäs, about two kilometres from Östra Tommarp. If you plan to travel by train, check the current timetable before setting off. When choosing where to stay, consider your own priorities: the history of the church and monastery, museums, settlement development or the open landscape. This will help you decide whether Tommarp suits the kind of cultural trip you are planning.

Discover more destinations: Borrby, Skillinge, Rörum, Brantevik, Sankt Olof, Vik, Kivik, Gladsax.

For the broader travel overview: Simrishamn.