Loftahammars kyrka, known locally for its mighty tower, stands in the village of Loftahammar in Kalmar county, within the Diocese of Linköping. It serves as the parish church of Loftahammar and was consecrated in 1764, replacing an earlier timber chapel.
The present church replaced a small wooden chapel, Hammars Capell, built in the early 1600s, which had fallen into disrepair. A national collection was authorised in 1752 to fund a new building, and construction began in 1759. By June 1760 the church interior was complete with roof, doors and pews, at a total cost of over 20,000 daler in copper coin. By royal decision the church was given the name Stor Amiralens Prints Carls kyrka, and it was consecrated in the summer of 1764 by Bishop Petrus Filenius of Linköping.
The distinctive tower was added in 1775–1777, when the bells from the old freestanding bell tower were moved into it. The clock in the tower was donated in 1907 by a local landowner, Carl Jonsson of Tångered.
Inside, the neoclassical altarpiece structure is thought to date from the time of the church's consecration in 1764. An earlier altar painting by Magnus Wicander, showing Christ's suffering in Gethsemane and installed in 1787, now hangs above the sacristy door. The current altarpiece, depicting the Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, the disciple John and guarding soldiers, was painted by the artist Curt Viberg of Visby and dedicated in Advent 1951. The pulpit, dating from 1761, is the work of the woodcarver Jonas Berggren of Målilla. A votive ship hanging in the lower north window was made and donated by two local men, and the limestone font was carved to a design by the architect Arne Essen, with its silver bowl made in Stockholm.
The church's most notable instrument is the 1767 gallery organ, built by Lars Wahlberg and his partner Anders Wollander of Vimmerby, a late Baroque instrument admired for the quality of its pipework and craftsmanship. It was altered in 1874 and later found unplayable by the late twentieth century. Between 1998 and 2000 it was restored to its documented original layout, based on an eighteenth-century manuscript, and a partition wall was built to separate it from a larger electric organ installed behind it in 1948 by A. Mårtensson's organ workshop in Lund.
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Norra Tjusts pastorat
Norra Tjusts pastorat
Loftahammars kyrka, known locally for its mighty tower, stands in the village of Loftahammar in Kalmar county, within the Diocese of Linköping. It serves as the parish church of Loftahammar and was consecrated in 1764, replacing an earlier timber chapel.
Bjursundsvägen 64, 59095, Loftahammar
Explore this church: Loftahammars kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
Location and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
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View church details: HolavedskapelletSources, 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: 17 Oct 2023. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: 4367094e-e5be-4df5-bf8a-9dbc4079b544
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.