Ramsele gamla kyrka

The church building probably dates from the 1200s. Its walls were originally bare, lit only by two small windows, and wall paintings added around 1600 were later covered over with limewash in 1668, only to be rediscovered centuries afterwards. A larger window opening was cut into the chancel in the early 1700s by the parish priest Erik Boderus, who installed glass depicting himself and his wife, and the ceiling was given its present appearance in 1728.

When Ramsele's new church across the river was consecrated in 1858, the old church was abandoned and stripped of its furnishings. According to one account, the interior ceiling was even torn down, and the building was used for storage, including as a hay barn, for some 67 years. The altarpiece's columns were reportedly removed to support the new church's number boards, while the rest of the altarpiece and other fittings were scattered and dispersed.

A restoration beginning in the early 1920s, initiated by parish priest Adolf Råde, sought out the dispersed furnishings across the parish and returned much of it to its original positions. The long-hidden 17th-century wall paintings were rediscovered and revealed, and a new bell tower was built during the works. The church was reconsecrated in 1925.

Surviving furnishings give a strong sense of the building's long history. Among the few medieval objects still kept here is a finely made censer. The carved and painted pews bear an inscription dating them to 1637, and the pulpit is from the same century, though it originally stood against the south wall before being moved to its current position in the early 1700s, when the galleries were also added. The altarpiece was carved in 1740 by the sculptor Måns Granlund of Härnösand.

Local tradition holds that the church was built by eleven farmers, though this remains a legend rather than a documented fact. The sacristy on the north wall is a later addition rather than part of the original structure. The church's position on Grannäset reflects the medieval pattern of travel by river, which was the most practical route for churchgoers of the time.