Morkarla kyrka is a small medieval parish church in Uppsala län, part of Dannemorabygdens församling. Set beside a wooded churchyard, it retains much of its original late-medieval character despite later alterations, and offers visitors a compact but rewarding example of rural Swedish church architecture.
The church has a rectangular nave with a straight-ended chancel, a sacristy to the north and a porch to the south. While the main building dates from the late medieval period, the sacristy is older, possibly originating in the 1200s or 1300s. The exposed walls are built of natural stone, with brick used for window and door surrounds and the upper gable ends. A steep saddle roof covers the nave, while the whitewashed sacristy has a hipped roof of its own. The medieval exterior is generally considered well preserved, though the windows were enlarged in 1745 and the sacristy roof altered during rebuilding in 1778.
Inside, the most striking feature is the wall painting, said to have been carried out in 1584 by Erik Nilsson of Gävle, according to the antiquarian Rhezelius. These were later limewashed over, first in 1740, before being uncovered and conserved in the twentieth century. The interior was remodelled in a Neo-Gothic style in 1897 under architect J. A. Ekholm, but a more thorough restoration in 1955–56, led by architect Erik Fant, aimed to return the church closer to its medieval appearance: the east window was blocked, the paintings conserved, and new pews fitted with door copies based on surviving eighteenth-century originals.
Among the furnishings, the font is the oldest object in the church, dating from the 1200s and carved from grey sandstone with a reddish marble bowl. The pulpit was made in 1622 and moved to the north side of the church in 1778; a sounding board added in 1897 was removed during the 1956 restoration in order to restore its earlier appearance. The altarpiece, depicting the Last Supper, is a mid-eighteenth-century Swedish work by an unknown artist.
The church's organ has an interesting history: an earlier instrument was built in the nineteenth century by Anders Victor Lundahl of Malmö and later rebuilt in 1904. The present organ was installed in 1957 (sources differ slightly, with one citing 1958) by Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri, and has fourteen stops across two manuals.
A freestanding wooden bell tower, built in 1748, stands on a small hillock near the church. It holds two bells: the larger dates from the 1500s, while the smaller was cast in 1731 at the Meyer bell foundry, a gift from Louis De Geer.
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Dannemorabygdens församling
Dannemorabygdens församling
Morkarla kyrka is a small medieval parish church in Uppsala län, part of Dannemorabygdens församling. Set beside a wooded churchyard, it retains much of its original late-medieval character despite later alterations, and offers visitors a compact but rewarding example of rural Swedish church architecture.
Lillgatan 4, 74832, Österbybruk
Explore this church: Morkarla 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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Kyrkbacksvägen 1, Knutby
View church details: Knutby kyrkaSources, 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: 7 Sep 2023. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: a413262c-8752-4bed-b8d5-d997f5475ca1
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.