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Vassunda kyrka

Address
Vassunda kyrka 523, 74191, Knivsta
Municipality
Knivsta kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Uppsala

Vassunda kyrka is a medieval parish church in Vassunda, in the Diocese of Uppsala, standing near the old road between Stockholm and Uppsala. Its long building history stretches from a probable 12th-century predecessor to substantial alterations carried out in the 19th century.



An earlier church may have stood on this site as early as the 1100s, though the oldest surviving parts of the present building are thought to date from the 1200s, when the church likely had a narrower, freestanding chancel and either a flat ceiling or an open timber roof. During the 1300s the building was extended eastwards into a single-naved hall church with a sacristy, and a triumphal crucifix was placed at the boundary between chancel and nave.

In the early 1400s a tower was added, originally topped with a tall spire, as recorded in a 1682 drawing by Johan Hadorph. A porch shown in early drawings was later demolished. Brick vaults were built into the church around the mid-1400s and decorated with wall paintings dated to roughly 1448–1468. By about 1500 the church is thought to have reached essentially its medieval form, after which little changed for some two centuries.

Late in the 17th century, probably between 1671 and 1696, a three-sided chancel was built, and around the same time the church was damaged by fire; the exact extent is unclear, but the spire is thought to have been destroyed and was replaced by a simpler tower cap that remained through the 1700s. A western gallery was added in 1745.

The most extensive rebuilding began in 1804 under architect Anders Andersson Sundström. The tower took on its present appearance, the bells were moved into it from a separate bell-frame, and new sound openings and a west portal were cut into the tower walls, turning its ground floor into a porch and main entrance. The old bell-frame, the south porch and the western lychgate were all removed, the medieval vaults were taken down and replaced with a plastered wooden vault, the sacristy was extended, and windows were enlarged or newly opened. A further interior renovation in 1954 conserved the 18th-century fittings and adjusted the colour scheme to earlier tones uncovered during the work.

Several notable furnishings survive: a pulpit built in 1716 by Joachim Lutken Schvager, an altarpiece carved by Magnus Granlund in 1767, and box pews from 1798. A medieval brass chandelier hangs in the centre of the church, alongside two later brass chandeliers donated in the 18th century. The church's silver was stolen in 1853 and never recovered; the current communion vessels date mostly from the following decades. Fragments of a processional banner from the 1490s, possibly linked to the workshop of the painter Albertus Pictor, are kept in the sacristy, and the porch holds the base of a medieval font bearing a sundial dated 1728. The present font in the chancel is a 1954 work in Öland limestone. The church has had an organ since at least the 17th century; the current organ case dates from 1851, with later additions and alterations.

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.

Vassunda församling

Vassunda kyrka

Vassunda kyrka is a medieval parish church in Vassunda, in the Diocese of Uppsala, standing near the old road between Stockholm and Uppsala. Its long building history stretches from a probable 12th-century predecessor to substantial alterations carried out in the 19th century.

Vassunda kyrka 523, 74191, Knivsta

Explore this church: Vassunda kyrka

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

Other churches in the same diocese

Basic listing

Skutskärs kyrka

Skutskärs kyrka, also known as Johanneskyrkan, is the largest of three churches in its parish, standing on a rise on the northern edge of the young sawmill town of Skutskär on the Uppland coast.

Östra vägen 43, 81431, Skutskär

View church details: Skutskärs kyrka
Basic listing

Järbo kyrka

Järbo kyrka is a timber church in the village of Järbo, in Sandviken municipality, part of Ovansjö-Järbo parish in the Diocese of Uppsala. It replaced an earlier chapel and stands as a memorial to the…

Ockelbovägen 2, 811 95, Järbo

View church details: Järbo 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: 9 Oct 2023. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: eae89900-8ee3-46f4-bde8-ce21159c71df

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.

Suggest a correction

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.