Tärby kyrka stands in a well-preserved rural setting east of Fristad, in the north-eastern part of Borås municipality. Likely dating from the early medieval period, this small stone church is thought to occupy an ancient sacrificial site at the heart of a settlement stretching back millennia.
Built without a tower in Romanesque style, the church stands amid archaeological evidence of considerable age: cremation grave finds around 300 metres away suggest a substantial village existed here as early as the time of Christ's birth. The church itself has been dated to the early Middle Ages, though some sources describe its origins more cautiously as probably dating from the 1200s.
The building was extended eastward between 1748 and 1753 with a three-sided chancel, and a sacristy was added in 1755. Windows were enlarged in the 1770s, and decorative draped motifs were painted around them internally. A major restoration in 1955–56 aimed to return the interior to its mid-18th-century appearance, uncovering whitewashed-over wall paintings and restoring 17th-century decoration on the pulpit and altar furnishings. Earlier painted decoration from the 1700s had itself been painted over during the 1800s, illustrating the layered history of the church's interior.
The most remarkable survival is the sandstone font, carved in two pieces during the 1100s by the stonemason Andreas, who is known by name because he signed two comparable fonts now held elsewhere. The Tärby font's bowl carries seven arcaded fields depicting biblical and symbolic scenes, including the Lamb of God, a warrior battling a winged beast, the Archangel Michael's fight with the dragon, and a Nativity scene, alongside decorative interlace and acanthus ornament on its base.
Other furnishings include a Baroque altarpiece from 1684 depicting Christ with the two Marys, and a Renaissance-style pulpit dating from 1675. Two chandeliers hang in the central aisle, the older of which, in glass, is said to date from the 1400s. An unusual sundial from 1633 can be found in the churchyard. A seated medieval Madonna figure carved from wood, dated to the 1200s, is recorded as having been removed to Borås museum rather than remaining in the church.
The timber bell tower dates from the 1750s and houses two undated medieval bells, one decorated simply with a wheel cross. The church's organ, built in 1983 by Nye Orgelbyggeri, incorporates one older pipe stop salvaged from a 1927 instrument at Lagga church.
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Fristads församling
Fristads församling
Tärby kyrka stands in a well-preserved rural setting east of Fristad, in the north-eastern part of Borås municipality. Likely dating from the early medieval period, this small stone church is thought to occupy an ancient sacrificial site at the heart of a settlement stretching back millennia.
513 96, Tärby
Explore this church: Tärby kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
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View church details: Tranums kyrkaSources, 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: 17 Jun 2025. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: da2b8c88-edcc-425a-aed0-b19b9d601f14
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.