Breviks kyrka, on the island of Lidingö near Stockholm, is a striking example of 1930s functionalist church architecture. Consecrated in 1937 to designs by local architect John Åkerlund, it serves the southern part of the island and features a notable altar relief.
The church grew out of Lidingö's rapid transformation from farmland into a suburban community in the early twentieth century. As the population multiplied and the parish church became overcrowded, plans for a second place of worship in Brevik were discussed for years, with early sketches dating back to 1921. Economic difficulties and competing proposals delayed matters further, and for two decades local services were held in a school hall before the new church was finally completed and consecrated at Midsummer 1937.
The building is constructed of brick with thinly rendered walls that let the underlying masonry show through, tall round-arched windows, a copper-clad roof and a gilded cross topping the tower, which is placed at the south-west corner. A stone-paved terrace with a lawn and rose bushes beside the church was designed as a space for open-air services. Later additions in 1955 and 1970 enlarged the parish hall and added a sacristy, lift and other facilities, without altering the character of the main worship space.
Inside, light and openness are the dominant impressions, with tall antique-glass windows and pale grey walls painted with depictions of the four evangelists, added in 1959. The focal point is the large altar wall, dominated by a three-part relief in lime-plaster stucco combining scenes of the Crucifixion, the Adoration of the Magi and Pentecost, executed in soft grey, green and reddish-brown tones. The design was created by the artist Simon Gate, with the stucco work by sculptor Carl Elmberg and painting by Gate and Erik Jerkhe, completed in the year of the church's consecration.
A granite relief of the Good Samaritan by Carl Elmberg, dated 1955, decorates the exterior of the parish hall. Much of the furnishing, largely designed by Åkerlund himself in stained pine and pine plywood, was donated by generous parishioners and local sewing circles, and the architect and his consultants reportedly worked on the building without payment.
The church has had several organs since a Hammond organ was given at its opening in 1937; the present mechanical organ dates from 1967. Two bells hang in the tower, cast in 1937 and dedicated to the memory of local residents.
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Lidingö församling
Lidingö församling
Breviks kyrka, on the island of Lidingö near Stockholm, is a striking example of 1930s functionalist church architecture. Consecrated in 1937 to designs by local architect John Åkerlund, it serves the southern part of the island and features a notable altar relief.
Kapellbacken 1
Explore this church: Breviks kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
Tibble kyrka in Täby, north of Stockholm, is a striking modern church best known for its vast glass mosaic walls covering some 950 square metres, created by Danish artist Mogens Jørgensen. The church was consecrated…
Attundavägen 3, 18334, TÄBY
View church details: Tibble kyrkaÄngbykyrkan, in Blackeberg on the edge of Stockholm, serves as its parish's church for children, young people and families, with Sunday services and weekday activities for younger members of the congregation.
Kyrkbacken 9
View church details: ÄngbykyrkanSätraängskyrkan is a small parish church at Sätra prästgård (parsonage) in the Danderyd district near Stockholm, consecrated in 1984 to designs by architect Bo Grefberg. It stands on the site of a former barn belonging…
Sjöbergsvägen 32, 182 37, Danderyd
View church details: SätraängskyrkanHäringe kapell, a small chapel about two kilometres north of Häringe slott on Södertörn in Haninge kommun, began life not as a church at all but as a forester's dwelling on the Häringe entailed estate.
Fredriksborg 25, Västerhaninge
View church details: Häringe kapellSources, 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: 8 Jun 2022. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: d2f377f9-ebfe-423b-984f-5bd993f634c5
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.