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Östmarks kyrka

Address
685 97, Östmark
Municipality
Torsby Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Karlstad

Östmarks kyrka is a wooden church in the Röjdan valley at Östmark, around twenty kilometres north-west of Torsby in Värmland. Built in the 1760s, it belongs to the Church of Sweden's Östmark parish within the Diocese of Karlstad.



The church is the first to have stood on this site, built between 1761 and 1765 from horizontal log timber on a natural stone foundation, and consecrated in July 1765. Its cross-shaped plan includes an extended sacristy to the east and a tower to the west, with the exterior clad in red-painted shingles during the 1770s. Rounded arched windows, painted grey-green, punctuate the walls, and entrances lead in through the gable ends of the transepts as well as through the porch at the base of the tower, each sheltered by a domed timber vestibule.

The tower narrows in three stages towards a tall shingle-clad spire topped with a weathervane cockerel, while the steep hipped roofs throughout are covered in tarred shingles. Inside, the plain white-painted panelling and the pair of crossing barrel vaults overhead give the nave a light, orderly character. The chancel is raised above the rest of the church and separated by a low white timber screen with a lattice pattern.

Among the furnishings, the pulpit on the north side of the chancel dates from the late seventeenth century and was brought from Västra Ämterviks kyrka; it has an octagonal body with panelled fields and a matching sounding board above. The altarpiece, designed in the 1930s by the architect Bror Almqvist, incorporates an older oil painting from the 1760s depicting the Crucifixion. A wooden font from 1795 stands on the south side of the chancel, paired with a silver bowl made by the silversmith Sigurd Persson and given to the church in 1967.

The church underwent its most significant restoration in 1934–1935 under the architect Bror Almquist, when the interior was repainted, stained-glass windows were added to the chancel, and older fittings were conserved; the church was reconsecrated in July 1935. A further restoration in 1965, guided by architects Ingeborg Wærn Bugge and Karl Gustav Norström, gave the interior its present lighter colour scheme of grey and blue tones.

The organ on the west gallery has origins going back to an 1877 instrument by E A Setterquist & Son, whose neoclassical façade survives; a new pneumatic organ was built into it by the same firm in 1935 and later reworked in 1982.

Opening hours

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

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

Contact & official information

Fryksände pastorat

Fryksände pastorat

Östmarks kyrka

Östmarks kyrka is a wooden church in the Röjdan valley at Östmark, around twenty kilometres north-west of Torsby in Värmland. Built in the 1760s, it belongs to the Church of Sweden's Östmark parish within the Diocese of Karlstad.

685 97, Östmark

Explore this church: Östmarks kyrka

Church information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.

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View church details: Töftedals 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: 13 Sep 2023. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: aa373512-c297-44b7-98d1-01ae798cbf1f

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.