Älghults kyrka

Älghult is first mentioned in records from the 14th century, and a medieval timber church once stood here. The present church was designed by Jacob Wulff in 1799 and built in 1805–1806, with the foundation stone laid by the provincial governor Carl Stellan Mörner. It was not consecrated until 14 September 1816, by Bishop Ludvig Carlsson Mörner. During construction the old timber church was demolished, but its stone sacristy, thought to date from the 15th century and notable for an eight-part star vault, was preserved; it was later reconsecrated in 1938 as a chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross.

The church consists of a rectangular nave running north–south, with the tower and main entrance to the south and a three-sided chancel with an attached sacristy to the north. The tower is topped by a helm-shaped roof with a clock and an open lantern crowned by a cross and weathervane cockerel. Inside, the hall-church interior has a decorated barrel vault, with painted ceiling inscriptions added in 1916.

Several furnishings were carried over from the earlier medieval church, including a crucifix dated to the 14th century. The pulpit, in Renaissance style, was made in 1649 and bought for the church in 1654, probably the work of a local craftsman; both it and its sounding board were reworked in 1730 with Baroque carvings attributed to the sculptor Sven Segervall, adding figures of Christ and the evangelists. The font, of polished limestone, was donated in 1650 by Knut Hammarsköld, whose coat of arms and initials are cut into its bowl.

The altarpiece, painted in oil and depicting the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, was made in 1765 by Louis Masreliez and given to the church in 1807; it was restored by the church painter Ludvig Frid around 1900, when the surrounding altarpiece surround also gained its decorative angel carvings.

The church has had a series of organs: an instrument built in 1748 by Jonas Wistenius was moved from the old church in 1807, replaced by a new organ in 1879–80 (when the current neo-Gothic organ facade was added), and rebuilt again in 1941 and 1955. A separate small chancel organ was installed in 1982.