Äspö kyrka

The oldest surviving fabric is the medieval nave, though the church has been much altered: the medieval choir and apse were demolished and the building extended in 1896 to designs by Helgo Zettervall. A tower was raised over the porch in 1770, but this was pulled down in 1854 and replaced by the present west tower, about 27 metres high including its spire.

The church's principal treasure is its well-preserved lime-wash paintings in the two surviving medieval vaults of the nave, attributed to the anonymous artist known as the Everlöv Master, active in the second half of the 1400s (sources differ slightly, with one giving a date around 1500). Because many worshippers could not read, biblical scenes were painted directly onto the walls and vaults as visual teaching aids. Fragments on the north wall are older still, probably from the 1300s.

Unusually, the layout of the biblical scenes departs from the norm found in other Scandinavian medieval churches. The Last Judgement, which conventionally appears in the vault bay nearest the choir, is instead placed in the western vault here, while the eastern bay - where Christ enthroned would normally be expected - shows scenes from the story of Adam and Eve, including the couple's expulsion from paradise, Adam ploughing and Eve spinning while minding a cradled child. An accompanying inscription, in a mixture of Old Swedish and Old Norwegian rather than the Latin used elsewhere in the church, has been translated along the lines of a plea that everyone should live as a farmer, as Adam did. One of the plough-horses is amusingly shown rearing up on its hind legs, apparently unwilling to work.

Other scenes include the Last Judgement with Saint Peter holding the keys to heaven, and depictions of hell in which devils are shown carrying off the damned. Elsewhere the seven deadly sins are represented symbolically through parts of the body, though these paintings are partly obscured by the organ.

Among further furnishings, a medieval crucifix of around 1400 hangs between choir and nave, its corpus some 138 cm high, though the paintwork and cross itself are later. The stone font, probably 13th or 14th century and plain, was found broken before restoration work in 1953 and later repaired. A carved pulpit dated 1598 shows the four evangelists with their traditional symbols. A worn medieval grave slab, commemorating a local couple who reportedly died in the 14th century, was moved to the tower in 1896 and returned to its original position near the altar in 1954, though its precise wording and the identity of those named cannot be independently confirmed here.