Dingtuna kyrka

The unusually large nave was already notable when built, replacing an earlier and smaller stone church on the same site; archaeologists have found traces suggesting an even older timber building may have preceded that. Around 1475 two exceptionally large brick star vaults were raised over the church interior, supported on clustered pillars, and it was on these vaults and walls that Albertus Pictor painted soon afterwards.

The eastern vault preserves lively, often humorous scenes inspired partly by the Biblia pauperum woodcuts, including episodes from the life of the Virgin Mary and of St Olaf, to whom the church, together with Mary, is dedicated. Other scenes depict David's victory over Goliath and episodes from the story of Samson, while the triumphal arch carries a depiction of the Tree of Jesse with kings and prophets. A damaged fragment showing the archangel Michael, found behind the pulpit during a 1968 restoration, escaped the heavier retouching applied to the other paintings in the 1890s.

The building's outward appearance changed considerably during the 19th century. After lightning damage in 1808 left the tower unstable, it was rebuilt in 1842 to a shorter design with an octagonal lantern, credited to Johan Fredrik Åbom; the walls were raised and the roof altered at the same time, and the medieval porch was removed. Timber from the original 14th-century roof structure was reused, cut down to fit the new framing. The antiquarian Richard Dybeck was famously scathing about the results, though later commentators have judged the church's medieval character to survive well overall.

A further restoration in 1898, overseen by the Västerås-born architect Erik Hahr, brought new pews, an organ case and altar, and uncovered the medieval paintings in the eastern vault, which had been plastered over since the 1640s; new paintings were added to the western vault, where the originals had been lost after a vault collapse in 1735. A further conservation in 1968 addressed persistent damp problems.

Among the church's furnishings is a carved wooden figure of St Birgitta dated to the later 15th century, and a fragmentary medieval altarpiece, damaged after being replaced by the current 18th-century altarpiece and later restored, now kept in the sacristy. The font's stone base dates from the 1300s, though its basin is a 1971 addition by the sculptor Lajos Büki. Two bishops of Västerås, who from 1684 to 1872 held Dingtuna as a prebend, are buried in the churchyard.