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Vireda kyrka

Address
Vireda kyrka
Municipality
Aneby Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Linköping

Vireda kyrka is a timber church in Vireda, Aneby municipality, prized for its medieval origins and richly painted interior. Much of the building dates from the 1300s, making it one of only three surviving medieval wooden churches in the county.



Dendrochronological analysis suggests the oldest timbers date from around 1344, though a font surviving from the 1200s hints that an earlier church may have stood on the site before that. The building rests on a fitted granite plinth and consists of a timbered nave. Around 1500, towards the end of the medieval period, a stone sacristy was added to the north of the chancel, giving the church its distinctive mix of timber and masonry.

During the early 1700s the church was further extended: a rounded stone chancel apse was built to the east in 1705, along with a timbered west tower of the same date, and a north transept followed in 1755. The steep timber roofs are covered with tarred wooden shingles, while the stone sacristy and apse are whitewashed, creating a pleasing contrast with the red-painted timber walls of the older sections.

Inside, the church is notable for its medieval wall paintings, dated to the 1500s, and painted ceiling decoration from 1756–1757. The wall paintings were limewashed over during the 1600s and only rediscovered and uncovered again in 1938. The current box-style pew arrangement dates largely from a 1906 renovation, with doors and gables added in 1938 to close in the pews.

Among the church's furnishings is a font from the 1200s, older than most of the standing building, and two crucifixes, one from the 1300s and the other from the 1400s. The pulpit, dated 1663, was a gift from Per Brahe the Younger, a notable regional benefactor. A turned birch-burl chandelier with twelve candle sockets, likely dating from the 1600s, is also among the church's furnishings.

The organ has its own layered history: an eight-stop instrument was built by Jonas Wistenius in 1755, with the cost partly met by a local provost, and later altered in 1857. In 1908 Eskil Lundén built a new eleven-stop pneumatic organ behind the surviving 1755 case, so the visible organ front still reflects the earlier instrument even though its mechanism was substantially renewed.

Opening hours

Opening hours have not been confirmed for the current date. This does not mean the church is closed.

Check access with the parish before travelling. Services and seasonal changes can affect visits.

Facilities & accessibility

  • Parking
  • Toilet
  • Café
  • Hearing loop

Listed by the provider; availability has not been independently checked. An unlisted facility is not necessarily unavailable.

Aneby pastorat

Vireda kyrka

Vireda kyrka is a timber church in Vireda, Aneby municipality, prized for its medieval origins and richly painted interior. Much of the building dates from the 1300s, making it one of only three surviving medieval wooden churches in the county.

Vireda kyrka

Explore this church: Vireda kyrka

Church information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.

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Basic listing

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Vikingstads kyrka stands a little apart from the modern village of Vikingstad, in Östergötland, a reminder that the settlement grew up around a later railway station rather than around the church itself. It is the…

Vikingstads Kyrkby 2, 583 93, Vikingstad

View church details: Vikingstads kyrka
Basic listing

Nykils kyrka

Nykils kyrka, in Nykil in the province of Östergötland, is a Gustavian-style parish church consecrated in 1786. Its large windows give the interior a light, spacious feel, and it stands on the site of a…

59052, Nykil

View church details: Nykils kyrka

Sources & credits

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: 24 Jun 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 79e3187b-315d-41ba-bb52-d780204111fa

Guide sources

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.

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Church data retrieved 24 Sep 2026. Visiting details have not been independently verified.

Sources, licences & reuse

Independent guide

Churches in Sweden is an independent guide. It is not an official Svenska kyrkan website and does not imply sponsorship or endorsement.

Church information

Source: Svenska kyrkan — Platser, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. English adaptations by Churches in Sweden are identified on each profile. Our adaptations solely from Platser are offered under CC BY 4.0. Guides combining Wikipedia with other compatible sources are identified individually and offered under CC BY-SA 4.0; this covers that guide text, not the whole website. Separately credited third-party material retains its stated terms. Independently written descriptions are identified on their profiles. Imported material has not been independently verified. Original names and visiting details are retained; presentation is reformatted. Each profile identifies its source record and any additional supplied credits.

You may reuse the licensed church material under CC BY 4.0, including commercially, with the required attribution, licence link and indication of changes. No additional site restriction overrides those rights. The licence does not automatically cover separately credited images or map data.

Provider disclaimer

Svenska kyrkan supplies Platser data without guaranteeing that it is correct, current, complete across its organisation, or always available. The material is provided as-is and as-available, subject to the licence’s disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability.

Svenska kyrkan kan ej garantera att den data som finns i Platser:
– är korrekt.
– är aktuell.
– är komplett för hela Svenska kyrkans organisation.
– alltid är tillgänglig.

Preserved provider agreement · Full licence

Automatic diocese associations use the organisation codes from Svenska kyrkan UnitAPI. An association does not establish ownership or denomination. External editorial sources are credited separately.

Map and photographs

Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL and © OpenMapTiles. Tiles and style are served by World Class Maps. Map rendering uses MapLibre GL JS. The map’s own attribution remains visible.

Photographs are credited individually with their own licence or permission. The API data licence does not automatically cover photographs. No images are imported automatically.