The church has medieval origins, and some evidence suggests a place of worship may have stood on this site as early as the 1200s or 1300s, before the stone church known today was built between 1501 and 1508 under the initiative of the Archbishop of Uppsala. At the time of its completion it was said to be the second-largest stone church in the upper Norrland region, and was originally decorated with colourful wall paintings.
The church's first priest, appointed in 1524, was also its last Catholic one; within a few years the parish had turned Lutheran. An organ is said to have been acquired as early as 1535, notably early for a rural parish church, and the first Swedish-language mass is reported to have been held in 1537, though these older claims rely on local historical accounts rather than firm documentation.
Built of grey stone with walls some 1.4 metres thick, the church is a single-nave hall church with a chancel to the east and a sacristy attached to the north. It has suffered two serious fires: one in 1893, which brought down the old stone vaulting, and a more devastating blaze in 1986 that destroyed the entire wooden interior. After each fire the church was rebuilt, most recently under the architect Jerk Alton, reopening in 1990 with new fittings including a triumphal crucifix by the artist Per Andersson, replacing a medieval original lost in the fire.
Despite the fires, some older treasures survive or have been dated to the church's earliest centuries, including the base of the font, a chalice and paten, and a chasuble, variously attributed to the 13th to 15th centuries depending on the source. The church's substantial organ, built by Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri and inaugurated in 1996, is regarded as one of the largest chancel organs in Sweden.
On the hill above the church stand the old rectory, Backens prästgård, and a pavilion used for gatherings, both forming part of the wider historic setting.