Forshaga kyrka

The rapids on the river at Forshaga had been used for sawmill operations since the early 19th century, but the community only grew substantially once chemical pulp production began there towards the end of the century. As the population increased, the long journey to the parish church at Grava became impractical, and local people sought a church of their own.

Forshaga had formed part of Grava pastorat, and a separate parish was established in 1919. In 1917 the parish had already commissioned Bror Almquist to prepare drawings and costings for a stone church, and the building was consecrated in March 1921, reportedly by Bishop J.A. Eklund. The church comprises a single-nave nave with a narrower chancel, a west tower some 30 metres high containing the main entrance, and a sacristy attached to the north side of the chancel. The nave is covered by a trefoil vault, and a triumphal arch separates the nave from the chancel.

Inside, decorative paintings by the artist Yngve Lundström adorn the triumphal arch, window recesses and roof beams, largely ornamental in character. The font and pulpit were both designed by Almquist himself: the octagonal font bowl rests on four columns above an octagonal plinth, while the pulpit, built in 1920, has an octagonal body without a sounding board.

Among the church's most distinctive furnishings are two older pieces brought from Grava's former church, where they had reportedly been kept in storage, unused, for some years. The richly carved late Baroque altarpiece was carved in 1696 by the sculptor Bengt Svensson of Kristinehamn and was given to Forshaga as a gift. The organ case, in a matching late Baroque style, also came from Grava; the organ itself was built in 1921 by E.A. Setterquist & Son of Örebro and later rebuilt in 1956, expanding it to fifteen stops across two manuals and pedals.

A silver bridal crown, donated by the church's needlework guild in 1939, is among the smaller items associated with the church's local community life over the decades.