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Edestads kyrka

Address
Edestadsvägen 40, 37295, Johannishus
Municipality
Ronneby Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Lund

Edestads kyrka, in the Blekinge village of Edestad, stands beside an ancient sacred spring once famed for its healing waters. Built in the thirteenth century, this small stone church retains striking medieval and later fittings that reward a closer look.



The church was raised in the mid-1200s beside Edestad källa, a spring long revered in pre-Christian times as one of southern Scandinavia's notable places of pilgrimage. People are said to have gathered there, particularly at midsummer, seeking cures for illness or protection from misfortune through offerings at the water. The spring is reportedly still visible on the church's north side. The original unggotisk (early Gothic) building comprised a nave and chancel, with a sacristy and porch added in the later Middle Ages.

Outside stands what is described as Blekinge's oldest surviving bell tower, holding two bells cast in 1688 and 1813.

Sources differ on some of the church's furnishings. One account describes a triumphal crucifix over the chancel arch dated to the fourteenth century, alongside a Madonna image from the late fifteenth century. Another source states that the church's celebrated old triumphal crucifix, known as the "Kornguden" (Corn God) and once carried in procession around the fields to bless the harvest, is now kept at Blekinge Museum, while a different Christ figure and a wooden cross—said to be a Baltic work from the later fifteenth century, now missing its feet and hands—have been returned to the church. Visitors should be aware these two descriptions of the crucifix cannot both be taken as current fact.

The pulpit is also inconsistently dated across sources, variously placed in the mid-1600s or the seventeenth century more generally, with later repainting and restoration noted. Its maker is unrecorded. The pulpit is carved with figures of the evangelists, John the Baptist and the prophet Jonah, with relief scenes from the life of Christ on the panels; the canopy above is said to depict the Last Judgement, with Christ enthroned above a crowd of figures, the righteous led toward light and the damned driven by devils toward a monstrous head.

The chancel ceiling carries a Baroque painting from 1730 showing Christ with a victory banner amid acanthus ornament. The Rococo altarpiece, with a Crucifixion painting attributed to I. Limnell, was installed in 1763, and further changes—including a turned-baluster altar rail—were made in the 1850s.

Wooden sculptures once in the church, including a figure said to represent Saint Olaf, are recorded as later fragments displayed at a museum in Karlskrona. The church also has an organ, originally built in 1875 and later replaced by a mechanical instrument installed in 1950.

Opening hours

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.

Facilities & accessibility

  • Toilet
  • Hearing loop

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

Ronneby pastorat

Edestads kyrka

Edestads kyrka, in the Blekinge village of Edestad, stands beside an ancient sacred spring once famed for its healing waters. Built in the thirteenth century, this small stone church retains striking medieval and later fittings that reward a closer look.

Edestadsvägen 40, 37295, Johannishus

Explore this church: Edestads 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

Backaryds kyrka

Backaryds kyrka is a wooden church in Backaryd, Blekinge, consecrated in 1799. It replaced an earlier timber church of 1630 and today serves the Ronneby parish in the Diocese of Lund.

Värendsvägen 34, 372 77, Backaryd

View church details: Backaryds kyrka
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Västra Vrams kyrka

Västra Vrams kyrka stands south of Tollarp beside the Vramsån river in Skåne, part of Tollarp parish in the diocese of Lund. Consecrated in 1869 to designs by the noted cathedral architect Helgo Zettervall, it…

Vrams Bygata 3, 29832, Tollarp

View church details: Västra Vrams kyrka
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Verums kyrka

Verums kyrka stands prominently above the Viå valley in Skåne. This parish church, with roots reaching back to the 1100s or 1200s, is known both for its historic role in a moment of Swedish sovereignty…

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Reslövs kyrka

Reslövs kyrka, in the village of Reslöv in Skåne, stands on a site with roots going back over a thousand years. Its sandstone walls date largely from the Romanic period, and the building has grown…

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View church details: Reslövs 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: 13 Aug 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 5abda7e3-8fdb-46f9-9c70-17cac57ad31c

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.