Vankiva kyrka

The church was probably built by stonemasons from Lund during the second half of the twelfth century, though its original appearance is uncertain since it has been altered and extended in stages. Cross vaults were added towards the end of the medieval period, and in the 1640s the church was extended to the north; this addition was known locally as the 'New Church' well into the nineteenth century. The tower was given its present form in the 1850s. For more than two centuries the church was linked to the Vankiva manor and the Bielke family through the right of patronage.

Early worshippers had no fixed seating: a single row of pews, likely intended for the more prosperous parishioners, was not installed until 1624, and it took until 1700 before benches were fitted for the whole congregation. A renovation in 1912, following proposals by cathedral architect Theodor Wåhlin, strengthened the bell tower, introduced new pews and saw the entire interior repainted in a pale blue shade that became known as Wåhlin blue.

Among the church's oldest features is a consecration cross painted on a pillar to the right of the altar, believed to date from the church's original dedication in the twelfth century. The triumphal crucifix above the altar is dated to the later twelfth century and may have been made in Skåne; it was rediscovered in the church loft in 1912, apparently having lain hidden there since the Reformation in the 1500s. The sandstone font is dated to around 1190–1210 and originally stood near the church entrance until the late seventeenth century, while its hammered brass basin dates from later in that century. Sources differ slightly on the exact dating of both font and crucifix. The pulpit, decorated with figures of the four evangelists, is dated by one source to 1898, though other material implies an older origin—an inconsistency worth noting.

Other furnishings include an older altarpiece, now hanging to the left in the chancel, depicting the Transfiguration of Christ, and wooden sculptures of Mary with the infant Jesus and a crucifix carved by Eva Spångberg of Gamla Hjälmseryd in Småland. Two memorial tablets commemorate former owners connected to Vankiva manor: one for Magnus Swafe, who died in 1696, and another for Christian Ridderskiöld, who died in 1726. Outside, on the north wall, several gravestones commemorate former clergy, including one for a priest born in Halland around 1600.

The church organ has a mixed history: one source states it was built in 1915 by Olof Hammarberg of Gothenburg and rebuilt in 1962 by Mårtensson's organ workshop, while another gives the original build date as 1912. The instrument heard today is the 1962 mechanical organ.