Built in the 14th century as the main church of the city, it has been described as "the main Gothic monument within church architecture in Skåne ". The church was a spiritual centre during the Reformationand was one of only a few churches in what was at the time medieval Denmark that suffered damage due to iconoclasm as a consequence of Svenska sökningar Reformation.
Peter's Church contains late medieval murals of recognized high quality, as well as a number of unusual furnishings. The altarpiecemade inis one of the largest in the Nordic countries. Peter's Church is the oldest church in Malmö, as well as the oldest preserved brick building, and originally the only parish church of the city.
The explanation is probably that Malmö rose to significance at a time when the land was already subdivided into parishes following the Christianization of Scandinavia in the preceding centuries. Peter's Church has been described as "the main Gothic monument within church architecture in Skåne" [4] and as a "very good and strongly authentic representative of Baltic Brick Gothic".
Peter's Church was the largest town church in Denmark. The church played an important role as a spiritual centre during the Reformation, with the Reformer Claus Mortensen [ sv ] active as a priest in the church. Peter's Church inwhen Claus Mortensen led the destruction of much of the ornamentation in the church, deemed "too Catholic" by the Reformer.
Of the more than sixty pre-Reformation altarpieces, only one survived more or less intact. It was also following the Reformation in that the interior of the church was whitewashed. Construction of the presently visible church began in the early 14th century, replacing an older Romanesque church at the same location.
Peter's Church. The church has been altered several times since its construction. The original church tower collapsed inprompting the construction of a new tower and new vaults supporting the ceiling in the western part of the building. Already inthe tower again suffered a partial collapse and had to be rebuilt.
The third was dedicated to Saint George but is popularly called Krämarkapellet "The chapel of the vendors" and was built for Malmö's guild of cloth dealers but used by several of the city's guilds whose coats of arms can still be seen in the chapel. A substantial reconstruction of the church was made in — under the guidance of Carl Georg Brunius.
The church was at the time in an unarguably bad condition but Brunius' renovation has nonetheless been criticized for having been harsh. The church was given an entirely new, copper roof, and large parts of the walls were replaced with new bricks. A large part of the ambulatory was entirely dismantled and rebuilt, and nearly all the buttresses of the church were heavily reconstructed.
The whitewashed interior was renewed, and many of the church's Renaissance furnishings were removed; the altarpiece and organ facade were saved contrary to the wishes of Brunius, but the altarpiece was painted grey. Between andanother series of renovations were carried out.
During this time, the altarpiece was restored to its earlier vibrant colours and the murals in Krämarkapellet uncovered and restored. Smaller renovations and alterations have also been made during the 20th century.