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Tanums kyrka

Address
Kvillevägen 4, 45732, TANUMSHEDE
Municipality
Tanums Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Göteborg

Tanums kyrka, in Tanumshede, is the parish church of Tanum, on a site said to have held a church since the 1100s. The present neoclassical building replaced a medieval predecessor in the late 1820s and remains one of the earliest churches of its style in Bohuslän.



Building work began in 1825, intended at first as a rebuilding of the older church, but the existing structure was judged too poor to save, and a wholly new church was built instead to designs by G F Oppman of Uddevalla. It was brought into use in 1829, with a formal inauguration the following year. A tower room preserves fittings salvaged from the demolished medieval church, including a carved vault stone with a face in relief, alongside a painted wall scene showing the old church, attributed to Brunius around 1830.

The exterior is simple and restrained: a whitewashed, roughcast nave with a red-tiled saddle roof, a west tower with round-arched, copper-shuttered sound openings and a curved copper cupola topped by a cross. The main entrance, reached by a stone stair, sits beneath the date 1826 worked in iron. Inside, the church is bright and open, its colours chosen to emphasise the classical detailing of the altarpiece and pulpit, which dominate the straight-ended chancel.

The altar and pulpit, both dating from 1854 and made by J. M. Ruthenbeck of Uddevalla to earlier designs by J. F. Weinberg, are grey-marbled and gilded, with the pulpit's tribune-like form recalling classical models. A large crucifix now hanging on the south wall is said to have stood in the altarpiece niche between 1930 and 1981, when it was later returned to the south wall — sources describe this swap but do not fully agree on later positioning, so visitors may notice the crucifix's current placement differs from earlier descriptions.

The octagonal granite font, carved in 1907 with a gilded inscription, stands near the chancel. The organ case, designed in 1829 by Weinberg for an instrument built by Söderling around 1860, was retained when a new organ of 29 stops was installed by Marcussen & Søn, incorporating five stops from the earlier instrument.

Two bells hang in the tower, cast in 1674 and 1739 respectively and both recast in Jönköping in 1828. Across the road from the church stands the Kalleby runestone, a reminder of the site's much older history.

Opening hours

Provider-listed schedule, applicable on 12 Oct 2026. All times are local to Sweden.

From 3 Oct 2023; no end date supplied
Monday09:00–15:00
Tuesday09:00–15:00
Wednesday09:00–15:00
Thursday09:00–15:00
Friday09:00–14:00
SaturdayNot listed
SundayNot listed

The opening hours apply on weekdays excluding public holidays.

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

Facilities & accessibility

  • Parking
  • Toilet
  • Hearing loop
  • Ramp
  • Accessible toilet

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

A listed ramp does not confirm step-free access throughout the building.

Tanums församling

Tanums kyrka

Tanums kyrka, in Tanumshede, is the parish church of Tanum, on a site said to have held a church since the 1100s. The present neoclassical building replaced a medieval predecessor in the late 1820s and remains one of the earliest churches of its style in Bohuslän.

Kvillevägen 4, 45732, TANUMSHEDE

Explore this church: Tanums kyrka

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

Other churches in the same diocese

Basic listing

Lundby nya kyrka

Lundby nya kyrka, in the Sannegården district of Gothenburg, serves Lundby parish. The original church of 1886 was destroyed by fire in 1993, and a new building, designed by architects Akke Zimdal and Margareta Diedrichs,…

Lundbygatan 2, 418 76, GÖTEBORG

View church details: Lundby nya kyrka
Basic listing

Biskopsgårdens kyrka

Biskopsgårdens kyrka is in Lundby parish. Biskopsgårdens kyrka was completed in 1961 to designs by architect SAR Johannes Olivegren and was consecrated by Bishop Bo Giertz on 26 February the same year. The nearest stop…

Vårvädersgatan 8, 418 31, GÖTEBORG

View church details: Biskopsgårdens 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: 30 Sep 2024. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 5664f0fe-1915-4648-84f3-4cba1c94abee

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.

Suggest a correction

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.