Dädesjö gamla kyrka dates from the 1200s and originally formed part of Dädesjö parish, now within the Church of Sweden in Växjö. Only the nave survives today; the chancel and other elements have been lost over time. The building is now cared for by the National Property Board of Sweden (Statens fastighetsverk).
When a new parish church was built nearby at the end of the 18th century, the old church was due for demolition, but it was spared and instead put to practical use as a grain store and general storehouse for more than a century. This unglamorous afterlife inadvertently helped protect its interior from later alteration.
The church's fame rests on its extensive ceiling and wall paintings, created in the late 1200s by a painter known as Sighmunder, who signed his work in runic script. Remarkably, the paintings were never overpainted in later centuries, and they were rediscovered and restored in the early 1900s after having been forgotten. They depict scenes from the story of Christ's nativity, from the Annunciation through to the birth in Bethlehem, each scene set within a decorative medallion border. The cycle is regarded as one of the outstanding surviving examples of medieval painting in Sweden.
Most of the church's furnishings and fittings were moved to the new parish church when it was built, but a few medieval pieces remain on site, including a Saint Olaf cabinet and a Madonna figure, both dated to the 13th century. The church had no organ until one was installed in the late 20th century.