Lessebo kyrka

The present church replaced an earlier 19th-century mill chapel, which had originally doubled as a school and had become too small for the parish by the 1950s. Plans for a new building had been discussed since a building committee was formed in 1938, with funds gradually raised through voluntary contributions. In 1956 a local referendum was held on the appearance of the new church, and residents expressed a preference for a traditional look with a fixed tower.

Architect Bent Jörgen Jörgensen was commissioned to design a building that met this wish while introducing a modern sensibility. Building work began in November 1958, and the church was consecrated at Whitsun 1960 by Bishop Elis Malmeström. According to the church's own account, Jörgensen conceived the building around the shape of a cross: the northern transept houses the parish hall, representing the inner life of the congregation, while the southern transept is only suggested by a window facade looking outward, symbolising the church's service to the wider world.

Built of hand-struck brick with whitewashed walls inside and out, the church has a nave with an eastern chancel and a western tower, the tower topped with a clock and a tall spire bearing a weathercock. Three bells in the belfry were donated by the Lessebo works. In 2022 the church was granted protected status as a listed building by the County Administrative Board of Kronoberg, becoming only the third 20th-century church in the county to receive such protection.

The plain, sparingly furnished interior is centred on a large pinewood cross above the altar, designed by Jörgensen himself, flanked by seven tall wrought-iron candlesticks. The pulpit, kneelers and open pews, also of untreated pine, continue his design. A vividly coloured window by artist Erik Höglund of Boda lights the north wall, while textile artist Liselotte Jörgensdotter created the chancel carpet and a wall hanging in soft colours. Other notable works include a processional crucifix by Eva Spångberg, a Maria icon by Barbro Fedrum, and a 1992 artwork of handmade linen paper produced at the Lessebo hand paper mill by Susanna Arwin. In the southern part of the church a candle stand and Taizé cross mark a space used for quiet reflection.

The church organ, built in 1963 by the Frederiksborg organ workshop in Hillerød, Denmark, has 21 stops and replaced an earlier five-stop instrument moved from the old mill chapel, which was later sold on. A smaller choir organ was added in 1983.