Askersunds landskyrka

A medieval timber-roofed stone church once stood on this site, but it was destroyed in 1661 after lightning set the roof ablaze. The task of rebuilding fell to Count Johan Oxenstjerna and his wife Christina, of the nearby Stjernsund estate, who commissioned the architect Jean de la Vallée; his design was ready by 1663.

Oxenstjerna died in March 1664, just as building was due to begin, leaving his young widow uncertain whether she could see the costly project through. Encouraged by her sister and supported by the wealthy nobleman Count Gustaf Soop, she pressed ahead, and the soldier-architect Erik Dahlbergh was brought in to complete the designs, including those for the burial chapel intended to honour her late husband. Christina later married Soop, and the rebuilt church, constructed in brick with a shingled roof, was consecrated in 1670.

Inside, the pulpit and altarpiece, carved in Baroque style in the 1660s by the sculptor Ewerdt Friis, were originally left unpainted and only gilded and painted white in 1790; they are crowned with the combined coats of arms of the Oxenstjerna and Soop families. The altarpiece depicts the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the risen Christ, while the pulpit panels illustrate scenes from the Passion. The burial chapel contains three coffins: Johan Oxenstjerna rests in a notably fine pewter coffin at the centre, flanked by Gustaf Soop and Christina.

The stone font's bowl dates from the medieval period, though it now stands on a modern base. A small Lady Chapel was created in the north transept during renovations in 1983–84, when a new altar was also installed to allow services facing the congregation. Portraits around the church depict Saint Lucia, apostles, Christina Oxenstjerna, Gustaf Soop and Erik Dahlbergh among others.

The church has two organs. The larger instrument on the gallery retains an organ case from 1790, though the organ works themselves have been rebuilt more than once, most recently in 1912 with later alterations. A smaller mechanical choir organ was added in 1976. Three bells, formerly rung from a freestanding bell tower outside the church, now hang in the tower itself.

The writer Verner von Heidenstam, whose grandparents are buried in the churchyard, is said to have called it 'the Riddarholm Church of the provinces', while it has also been referred to as 'the Queen of northern Vättern'.