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Röks kyrka

Address
Röks kyrka 1, 599 94, Ödeshög
Municipality
Ödeshögs Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Linköping

Röks kyrka, in Röks socken near Ödeshög in Östergötland, is regarded as one of Sweden's best-preserved Empire-style churches. Built in the 1840s, it stands beside the famous Rök runestone and is decorated with funerary coats of arms from local families.



The present church was built between 1843 and 1845 to designs by the Östergötland master builder Abraham Nyström, replacing a medieval limestone church whose oldest parts dated from the twelfth century. Growing population and dissatisfaction with the old building's dark, cramped interior led the parish to commission a new church in the neoclassical style then favoured across Sweden, after earlier proposals for a shared church with neighbouring parishes had failed to gain agreement. The design was reviewed and slightly amended by the Royal authorities in Stockholm before construction began.

The church is a single-nave stone building with a west tower topped by a lantern with triple round-arched openings, and a semicircular apse to the east. Inside, the large altarpiece depicting Christ's agony in Gethsemane was painted in the nineteenth century by Carl Ferdinand Lindh, set within a triumphal arch flanked by pilasters. The pulpit, dated 1845, was made by Abraham Nyström himself and carries Christian emblems and terracotta ornament, including a sun motif with the tetragrammaton. A stone font from the workshop of Michael Hacke in Skänninge, dated 1661, stands on the opposite side of the chancel.

A number of furnishings were carried over from the demolished medieval church, including carved oak figures from a fifteenth-century altar cabinet and the upper part of a thirteenth-century font, now displayed at the rear of the nave. The bell-ringing mechanism, worked by treading, is reportedly still used to summon worshippers to services and festivals, though visitors should not assume this happens on any particular day. The churchyard has grown up around the medieval church site, and several graves are enclosed by stone kerbs or cast-iron railings.

Standing beside the church is the Rök runestone, one of Sweden's most remarkable runic monuments for its unusual inscription and sheer number of runes. It was originally built into the medieval tithe barn near the old church, later set into the porch of the new church in 1845, and moved to stand freely outside the tower in 1862.

The church organ, an 1871 instrument by Per Larsson Åkerman of Stockholm with 18 stops across two manuals and pedal, replaced an earlier organ tradition going back to the seventeenth century; the previous instrument was apparently moved to Varvs kyrka in Västergötland when the old church was demolished.

Opening hours

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

Additional opening information is awaiting translation. Check the official visitor-information link before travelling.

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

Facilities & accessibility

  • Parking
  • Toilet
  • Hearing loop

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

Ödeshögs församling

Röks kyrka

Röks kyrka, in Röks socken near Ödeshög in Östergötland, is regarded as one of Sweden's best-preserved Empire-style churches. Built in the 1840s, it stands beside the famous Rök runestone and is decorated with funerary coats of arms from local families.

Röks kyrka 1, 599 94, Ödeshög

Explore this church: Röks 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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View church details: Holavedskapellet
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Västrums kyrka

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View church details: Västrums kyrka
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Viby kyrka

Viby kyrka, near Mantorp in Östergötland, stands on a site with roots stretching back roughly a thousand years. Behind its modest exterior lies a long and layered history, from a possible Viking Age burial ground…

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View church details: Viby 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: 2 Sep 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 0d335f28-9f15-4bcc-ac93-72bd3459040b

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.