Alunda kyrka is a parish church in the village of Alunda, in Uppsala län, whose oldest parts date back to the 1200s. Set within Alunda parish of the Church of Sweden, it has grown and changed considerably over the centuries into the whitewashed cross-shaped building seen today.
The earliest stone church consisted of a nave with a tower at one end and a chancel at the other. In the mid-1400s the nave was extended eastward with a new chancel of matching width, the sacristy was enlarged, and brick vaulting was added to the roof. In 1465 the interior was decorated with wall paintings, including work attributed to Johannes Iwan of Vendel.
Fire damaged the church on more than one occasion, notably in 1542, 1715 and again in 1859. After the 1715 fire the building reportedly stood in poor condition for some time before repairs and rebuilding took place between 1780 and 1787. This work gave the church its present cross shape, with two additional transepts making it as wide as it is long, along with a heightened tower topped by a lantern, large round-arched windows and a barrel-vaulted nave in the neoclassical style seen today. The medieval wall paintings were whitewashed over during this rebuilding.
A restoration in 1937, led by architect Ärland Noreen, uncovered the whitewashed medieval paintings in the chancel vaults and introduced a newly carved altar rail. The altarpiece, painted in 1862 by Johan Zacharias Blackstadius with a carved frame by Fredrik Smedberg, remains a focal point, alongside a font dating from the 1400s and a pulpit carved in the Gustavian style by Johan Westberg in 1796.
The church houses a well-preserved 25-stop pipe organ built in 1880 by the Stockholm firm P. L. Åkerman & Lund, standing on the gallery, with a smaller two-manual choir organ added in 1978. An earlier 18th-century organ by Jonas Ekengren was reportedly sold on to a church in Gävle around 1880.
Outside the church stand several runestones, though one of the group is recorded as lost. Two of the surviving inscriptions are said to lack coherent linguistic meaning, suggesting they were carved by an inexperienced rune-carver rather than a skilled craftsman.
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.
Listed by the provider; availability has not been independently checked. An unlisted facility is not necessarily unavailable.
Alunda församling
Alunda församling
Alunda kyrka is a parish church in the village of Alunda, in Uppsala län, whose oldest parts date back to the 1200s. Set within Alunda parish of the Church of Sweden, it has grown and changed considerably over the centuries into the whitewashed cross-shaped building seen today.
Prästgårdsvägen 18, 747 30, Alunda
Explore this church: Alunda 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.
Hillevägen 158, 806 49, Gävle
View church details: Kapellet på Hille kyrkogårdKatrinebergs kapell stands on a rise a kilometre north of the border between Gästrikland and Hälsingland, deep in the Bollnäs finnskog (forest settled by Finnish migrants). It is the oldest of the chapels within the…
Katrineberg 8854, 816 95, Åmotsbruk
View church details: Katrinebergs kapellLänna kyrka stands above Länna kyrksjö in Norrtälje municipality, at a site where waterways once met and a marketplace once thrived. Likely built around 1300 on the foundations of an earlier medieval church, it remains…
Lännaby 91
View church details: Länna kyrkaSamariterhemmets kyrka is a church in Uppsala, forming part of the Diakonistiftelsen Samariterhemmet, an independent foundation within the Church of Sweden. Located in the Kungsängen district, it also serves as a local district church within…
Samaritergränd 2, 75319, UPPSALA
View church details: Samariterhemmets 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: 19 Jun 2024. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: de8d7e32-6ca1-4207-97df-ec42f5cbced0
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.