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Narkens kapell

Address
Laestadíusvägen 38
Municipality
Pajala Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Luleå

Narkens kapell is a small wooden chapel in the village of Narken, in Pajala kommun some fifty kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. Built to designs by architect Jan Thurfjell, it was consecrated on 1 July 1961 and belongs to Pajala parish in the Diocese of Luleå.



The chapel owes its existence to local effort: villagers in Narken raised funds and contributed voluntary labour to see the building completed. A separate bell tower standing beside the chapel had already been inaugurated in 1959, two years before the chapel itself was finished.

The building is a simple timber structure, its exterior walls clad in white-painted vertical panelling beneath a steeply pitched, metal-clad roof that sweeps down almost to ground level. A row of square windows sits along the lower edge of the roof, admitting light into the plain interior, which has a ceiling of natural-toned wood panelling and a timber floor fitted with wooden pews arranged in two open blocks.

The altarpiece, painted in 1961 by Tor Löfhaugen, dates from the same year as the chapel's consecration. A modest pipe organ with five stops also serves the building, typical of the small instruments found in many rural Swedish chapels of this period.

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.

Facilities & accessibility

  • Parking
  • Ramp

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

A listed ramp does not confirm step-free access throughout the building.

Pajala församling

Narkens kapell

Narkens kapell is a small wooden chapel in the village of Narken, in Pajala kommun some fifty kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. Built to designs by architect Jan Thurfjell, it was consecrated on 1 July 1961 and belongs to Pajala parish in the Diocese of Luleå.

Laestadíusvägen 38

Explore this church: Narkens kapell

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

Överkalix kyrka

Överkalix kyrka stands at the heart of Överkalix, in the far north of Sweden. This stone church, the fifth to serve the parish on this site, was consecrated in 1943 after its predecessors were repeatedly…

Södrakyrkogatan 9

View church details: Överkalix 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: 14 Feb 2024. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 43bca636-6ef5-478e-bfbb-c6160e41be79

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.

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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.