Förkärla kyrka is a parish church in Förkärla, near Ronneby in Blekinge, thought to date from the early 13th century. Although its origins lie in the Middle Ages, the building was substantially transformed in the 19th century and retains only fragments of its earlier medieval character.
The church began as a tower-less grey stone building with a nave, a straight-ended chancel to the east, and a later sacristy to the north. Its bells originally hung in a separate wooden bell tower rather than in the church itself.
Between 1863 and 1865 the church underwent major rebuilding that gave it much of its present appearance. The medieval east and west gable ends were demolished, along with the old sacristy. An apse was added beyond the chancel, later serving as a sacristy, while a new west tower was built to house the bells, making the old bell tower redundant. The tower's lower storey now contains the porch and main entrance, and it is topped with a lantern and spire bearing a cross. Two bells hanging in the tower were cast in 1712 and 1732.
A further building phase in 1937–38 added a new sacristy on the north side and altered the apse so that it once again formed part of the chancel rather than serving as a sacristy.
Inside, the barrel-vaulted nave and tall windows reflect the airy, neoclassical taste of the 19th-century rebuilding, though sections of exposed whitewashed wall reveal earlier Renaissance-period decorative painting. Medieval limewall paintings, uncovered during restoration work in the 1930s, survive on parts of the nave's south and north walls, including acanthus motifs in grey and red and a grey-toned scene depicting a man surrounded by acanthus scrollwork.
Among the furnishings, the triumphal crucifix of 1530 is considered the church's oldest object. The pulpit, against the south wall and reached by its own stair, was made by an unknown craftsman in the 17th century and decorated with painted images of the evangelists. The current pews date from the 1938 restoration, though their richly painted ends and doors are older, from the 17th and 18th centuries. Two funerary hatchments hang in the church commemorating local naval officials from the 18th century. The organ, built in 1928, replaced an earlier 19th-century instrument, though its façade—designed in 1865—was retained from the earlier organ case.
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Ronneby pastorat
Ronneby pastorat
Förkärla kyrka is a parish church in Förkärla, near Ronneby in Blekinge, thought to date from the early 13th century. Although its origins lie in the Middle Ages, the building was substantially transformed in the 19th century and retains only fragments of its earlier medieval character.
Vambåsavägen 1, 37295, Johannishus
Explore this church: Förkärla kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
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View church details: Mölle kapellLocation and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
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Rya
View church details: Rya kyrkoruinSources, 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: 13 Aug 2026. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: ec12dbdb-d5c3-4f64-aa59-cd2838cafa0b
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.