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Ekeby kyrka

Address
UPPSALAVÄGEN 21, 74742, GIMO
Municipality
Östhammars Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Uppsala

Ekeby kyrka is a parish church in Ekeby, between Gimo and Alunda in Uppland, forming part of Gimo pastorat. Its stone building replaced an earlier medieval timber church and retains striking early sixteenth-century ceiling paintings alongside a much older font.



The church's oldest surviving element is the sacristy, which may date from the 1200s and originally belonged to a simpler wooden church on the site. Sources differ slightly on the timing of the rebuilding: one account suggests the stone church replaced the timber one after roughly 150 years of use, while another dates the construction of the present building to around 1440–1470. Either way, the new church took the familiar rectangular form, with a priests' chancel and a nave for the congregation divided by a triumphal arch. It is built largely of grey stone, with brick gables and rendered walls; a porch, added slightly later, incorporates a timber door with ironwork in a late thirteenth-century style, said to survive from the earlier wooden church.

The vaulted ceilings, raised at the same time as the rest of the church, are richly decorated with ceiling paintings showing early Renaissance influence, thought to have been painted around 1515–1525. During the eighteenth century the windows were enlarged and the paintings were limewashed over. They were uncovered again during a major renovation in 1927, led by the artist J. Österlund, when electric heating was also installed. The most recent exterior restoration took place in 1966.

Little medieval furnishing survives inside beyond the font, since the parish voted at a meeting in 1888 to sell its medieval sculptures to the Swedish History Museum. The limestone font, however, dates from around 1250–1280 and belongs to the era of the old timber church; its brass basin was donated in 1927. The altarpiece was acquired in 1717, reputedly the work of one of Stockholm's more prominent sculptors, though the sculptor's identity is given as unknown in another account. The altar's surrounding woodwork was completed in 1927, incorporating parts of an earlier altar surround made in 1730 by the joiner Sandberg of Uppsala and painted in 1738.

Among the church's textiles is an antependium originally made in 1646 as a pall or funeral cloth, with rich appliqué embroidery, created for a Swedish nobleman and his wife. The organ has an early nineteenth-century facade from 1841, though the instrument itself was rebuilt in 1922 by the German firm Furtwängler & Hammer.

A freestanding bell tower stands on higher ground than the church itself and holds two bells, a larger one cast in 1770 and a smaller one from 1869.

Opening hours

Opening hours have not been confirmed for the current date. This does not mean the church is closed.

Additional opening information is awaiting translation. Check the official visitor-information link before travelling.

Check access with the parish before travelling. Services and seasonal changes can affect visits.

Facilities & accessibility

  • Parking
  • Toilet
  • Hearing loop
  • Accessible toilet

Listed by the provider; availability has not been independently checked. An unlisted facility is not necessarily unavailable.

Gimo pastorat

Ekeby kyrka

Ekeby kyrka is a parish church in Ekeby, between Gimo and Alunda in Uppland, forming part of Gimo pastorat. Its stone building replaced an earlier medieval timber church and retains striking early sixteenth-century ceiling paintings alongside a much older font.

UPPSALAVÄGEN 21, 74742, GIMO

Explore this church: Ekeby 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

Forsa kyrka

Forsa kyrka is a parish church beside the kyrksjön (church lake) in Forsa parish, near Hudiksvall in Gävleborgs län, and belongs to the Forsa-Högs parish within the Church of Sweden's Uppsala diocese.

Prästgården 113, 824 62, Forsa

View church details: Forsa kyrka
Basic listing

Ljusne kyrka

Ljusne kyrka is a church in Ljusne, in the province of Hälsingland, Sweden, consecrated in 1896. Distinctive for its unusual style within a Swedish context, it was built at the initiative of Countess Wilhelmina von…

Hagavägen 6, 820 20, Ljusne

View church details: Ljusne kyrka
Basic listing

Olov Hartmans studiokyrka

Olov Hartmans studiokyrka is a small timber church now standing beside Mariakyrkan in Sigtuna, within Sigtuna parish. Originally built as an experimental studio chapel, it has an unusual history of relocation and renaming that reflects…

Stenvretsvägen 1, 19332, Sigtuna

View church details: Olov Hartmans studiokyrka

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: 28 Jun 2023. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 5614797f-c160-4baf-9156-5cba96a56c58

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.