Ödeshögs kyrka stands at the centre of Ödeshög, on the old main road between Stockholm and Malmö. A church has occupied this site since the twelfth century, and the building visible today reflects centuries of alteration, including a memorably shifted chancel.
The earliest stone church here dates from the second half of the 1100s, built of limestone with a rectangular nave, an apsed chancel and, unusually, a tower positioned above the chancel rather than at the west end—a feature shared with only a couple of other churches in the region. Around 1200 the apse was removed and the chancel rebuilt in a Cistercian style, likely under masons from nearby Alvastra monastery. Further enlargements followed in the 1400s, when the nave was widened and the chancel extended.
The church suffered structural problems over time, prompting repairs in the 1660s funded by Per Brahe the Younger and his wife, and more extensive rebuilding in 1781, when the tower was reconstructed at the east end and the church extended westward. The most striking transformation came in 1889, when architect Ferdinand Boberg reversed the orientation of the interior, placing the chancel in a new semicircular extension to the west and turning the old chancel into a porch. Barely seventy years later, a restoration guided by Professor Erik Lundberg moved the chancel back to its original eastern position, a rare instance of a church's layout being reversed and then reversed again.
Inside, the high altar features an altarpiece by sculptor Olof Wiström from 1703, depicting the Crucifixion flanked by figures of John and Mary. A separate, older altarpiece painted in 1857 by Gustaf Adolf Engman now hangs on the north wall of the nave; it was donated by churchwarden Johan Pettersson and his wife Johanna, locally remembered as a noted tradeswoman. Damaged medieval limewash paintings survive on the triumphal arch wall, uncovered during the twentieth-century restoration, including a Pietà scene.
Other furnishings include a pulpit from 1796, a modern font designed in 1942 by Ove Leijonhufvud, and a Crucifixion sculpture from 1990 by Margareta Engström set within the triumphal arch. A runestone, bearing a brief memorial inscription, is built into the church's north exterior wall—one of relatively few such stones incorporated directly into a church structure. The building has had several organs over the centuries, and both a larger gallery organ and a smaller chancel organ are in use today.
The churchyard retains some older layout features, including gravestones with stone frames and a number of obelisk memorials.
Provider-listed schedule, applicable on 12 Oct 2026. All times are local to Sweden.
| Monday | 10:00–16:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00–16:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00–16:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00–16:00 |
| Friday | 10:00–16:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00–16:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00–16:00 |
Additional opening information is awaiting translation. Check the official visitor-information link before travelling.
Check access with the parish before travelling. Services and seasonal changes can affect visits.
Listed by the provider; availability has not been independently checked. An unlisted facility is not necessarily unavailable.
A listed ramp does not confirm step-free access throughout the building.
Ödeshögs församling
Ödeshögs församling
Ödeshögs kyrka stands at the centre of Ödeshög, on the old main road between Stockholm and Malmö. A church has occupied this site since the twelfth century, and the building visible today reflects centuries of alteration, including a memorably shifted chancel.
Storgatan 8-10, Ödeshög
Explore this church: Ödeshögs kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
Högby kyrka, north of Mjölby in Östergötland, stands on a site with roots in the late 12th century. The present building dates from the 1870s, though later remodelling divided it into three distinct worship spaces,…
Högby kyrka 1, 595 94, Högby
View church details: Högby kyrkaLocation and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
Lärkvägen 5, 592 32, Vadstena
View church details: Ljusets kapellKimstads kyrka, in the village of Kimstad south-west of Norrköping, is considered one of Sweden's most striking baroque churches, though its origins reach back to the medieval period. Its most distinctive feature is the pair…
Nya Rådstugugatan 7
View church details: Kimstads kyrkaLocation and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
Wilhelm Wibergs gata 176, 60377, Norrköping
View church details: HallegårdenSources, credits and English adaptations are identified on each church page. Provider data: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0.
Provider catalogue data: Svenska kyrkan, Platser, CC BY 4.0. Separately credited descriptions retain their stated source and licence terms. Catalogue and visiting data reformatted from the provider. The English guide combines and abridges separately credited sources below.
Provider record updated: 11 May 2026. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: 06db258a-0c68-4927-966e-5ea56b8f8de9
This English guide combines, abridges and translates the sources below with AI assistance, with editorial contributions by Churches in Sweden. It has not been independently verified. The adapted guide text is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photographs and map data have their own terms.