Ryssby kyrka

The original church here was a defensive structure, burned down by Danish forces during the Kalmar War on 5 December 1611. Rebuilt afterwards, it eventually proved too small for the congregation, and a new church was consecrated in 1750 by the Bishop of Kalmar, Beronius. A tower was added in 1837. The medieval predecessor is known only through eighteenth-century depictions, which show a tall, rectangular building with an upper storey above the nave and an apsidal chancel—features suggesting it may have been built alongside an early medieval or possibly Viking-age manor estate.

Having celebrated its 250th anniversary in Advent 2000, the church suffered a second catastrophic fire on 11 April 2001, days before Easter, apparently beginning as a sudden explosion at midday. Several older furnishings were lost, including a fifteenth-century Ecce Homo painting, a Mary sculpture of around 1750, and a seventeenth-century altarpiece, along with ceiling paintings by Einar Forseth and a 1962 altarpiece by Ivar Morsing.

The parish council decided to rebuild on the same site and old foundations, but with an interior adapted to contemporary needs. An architectural competition was won by Alton Arkitekter of Kumla, with Skanska as main contractor, while a separate group worked on furnishings, colour scheme and textiles. The rebuilt church was reconsecrated at Easter 2005 by Bishop Anders Wejryd. Internally the changes included an enlarged gallery to create a smaller, more flexible worship space, new sacristy and side rooms to the west, and a former sacristy converted into a side chapel used for Sunday school and children's activities. The altar was repositioned for celebration facing the congregation.//

Among the church's notable objects is a runestone from the later eleventh century, originally built into the church's east wall in 1750 and rediscovered during trial excavations after the 2001 fire. Carved from Kalmarsund sandstone, it commemorates a bridge built by a man named Illugi in memory of his father or brother, and although damaged by an earlier fire, it survives in reasonable condition. It remains set into the church wall, made visible to visitors by a lowered section of flooring.

Modern furnishings reflect the 2005 rebuilding: a Madonna sculpture by woodcarver Eva Spångberg, a face of Christ and a votive ship by glass artist Bertil Vallien, and a new altarpiece painted by Monica Strandberg. The church also has a mechanical organ built in 2010 by Ålems Orgelverkstad, following the destruction of its predecessors in the fire.