Beside Lake Nären in Dalsland stands Skålleruds kyrka, a red-painted timber church whose oldest known predecessor dates back to the 1500s. Despite periods of poverty and heavy taxation, the building has retained its distinctive character and remains a well-visited destination in the region today.
The present church was built between 1676 and 1679 on the site of an earlier timber church rebuilt in 1593, replacing it entirely rather than simply extending it. Construction was funded by Paul Rokes, owner of the nearby Upperud ironworks. Dendrochronological analysis carried out in 1997 confirmed that both the nave and chancel date from the 1670s, correcting an earlier belief that the chancel was older.
The church is built of horizontal timber logs, with a rectangular nave, a narrower three-sided chancel to the east, and a west tower reached through a porch. The current tower dates from 1746, replacing an earlier bell structure, and was rebuilt again in 1784; its gilded orb and cross were added in 1924. The exterior has not always been red: it was tarred until the early 1800s, later painted white for a period in the mid-1800s, before returning to the red colour seen today.
Inside, the barrel-vaulted ceiling and altar furnishings reflect the church's rich late-1600s and 1700s decoration. The altarpiece, depicting the Descent from the Cross, was painted in 1679 by Erik Eriksson Grijs, whose decorative work also survives in fragments on the triumphal arch wall and around the organ gallery, much of it having been covered and later rediscovered during restoration. The Baroque altar structure and pulpit, commissioned the same year, were later embellished in the 1760s by the woodcarver Isak Schullström, who added sculptural figures and angels bearing hymn-number boards.
A notable survival is the medieval font, carved from soapstone in the 1200s in a Norwegian style, decorated with rope-moulding and scalloped ornament. During restoration work in 2004, conservators uncovered an original 1679 painting on the chancel beam behind the altarpiece, showing garlands of pomegranates, grapes and acanthus leaves; it has since been covered again for preservation, with a photographic record kept in the sacristy.
The church has undergone several restorations, notably in 1924–25 under architect Axel Forssén, which aimed to recover the 1600s and 1700s character of the interior after Victorian-era overpainting, and again in 2004, when the pews were returned to their 1780s colour scheme following paint-archaeological investigation. Two small icons and a woven chancel carpet were added to the church around this reopening.
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Hearing loop: the venue has a hearing loop.
Melleruds församling
Melleruds församling
Beside Lake Nären in Dalsland stands Skålleruds kyrka, a red-painted timber church whose oldest known predecessor dates back to the 1500s. Despite periods of poverty and heavy taxation, the building has retained its distinctive character and remains a well-visited destination in the region today.
Box 94, 464 22, Mellerud
Explore this church: Skålleruds kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
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Karlsbergsvägen 17, 666 31, Bengtsfors
View church details: Ärtemarks kapellSources, credits and English adaptations are identified on each church page. Provider data: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0.
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: 24 Jan 2025. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: 4be1c763-cf57-4b56-a52b-5dd3f5cf9724
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.