Västra Karups kyrka

The church stands on a north-south axis, with the entrance in the south transept and the chancel at the north end of the nave, an arrangement rather different from the usual east-west orientation of Swedish churches. Built of natural stone with rendered walls, it consists of a rectangular nave, a tower to the west, and a semicircular apse to the east housing the sacristy. Roofs over the nave and south transept are tiled, while the tower and sacristy are clad in copper. Inside, the nave and transept ceilings are covered by wooden barrel vaults.

According to oral tradition, the first church on the site was a wooden stave church. The oldest parts of the present stone building probably date from the 12th century, and a church is known to have stood here in 1156, during the time of Archbishop Eskil. The building was extended eastward in 1790 or 1793 to designs by the architect Per Wilhelm Palmroth, adding a new chancel and an apse-shaped sacristy. A broad south transept followed in 1818, designed by Axel Almfeldt; an earlier 1805 plan had called for transepts on both sides, but only the southern one was built for reasons of cost. The tower dates in part from the mid-18th century, though it was rebuilt in 1843 to designs by Theodor Edberg.

A thorough restoration took place in 1957–58 under cathedral architect Eiler Græbe, during which a new floor of red tiles was laid and the open pews were replaced with the enclosed pews seen today. The church was reconsecrated on 1 June 1958 by Bishop Anders Nygren.

Among the furnishings, the sandstone font is possibly medieval, dating from the 13th century, with a brass christening dish added in the later 16th century. The altarpiece, depicting the Crucifixion, was painted by Martin David Roth in 1800 and includes a sun motif bearing the Hebrew tetragrammaton. The pulpit follows a design from 1838. Seven chandeliers hang in the vaults, the westernmost a gift from 1796, and two brass candlesticks survive from the 1600s. Of the two communion vessels, the older, in gilded silver, is engraved with the date 1621, and a votive ship dating from 1868 also hangs in the church.

The present organ was built in 1963 by Paul Ott of Göttingen, Germany, a mechanical instrument with 25 stops; earlier organs on the site date back to 1759. Two bronze bells hang in the tower, the larger cast in 1708 and recast in 1784 and again in 1871.

The churchyard is the resting place of the soprano Birgit Nilsson (1918–2005), along with her parents and husband Bertil Niklasson. She is said to have performed in the church on various occasions over the years, though details of specific performances are not documented here.