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Erska kyrka

Address
Erska byväg 23
Municipality
Alingsås Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Skara

Erska kyrka is a striking centrally-planned church near Sollebrunn, in Bjärke parish, Skara diocese. Built in the 1880s to replace an older church on the site, it is considered the best-preserved of the diocese's four central churches and stands beside an Iron Age burial field.



The present church likely had two predecessors on this ridge above Sollebrunn. The first, a medieval timber building, may have been destroyed by Danish forces during the wars of the early 1600s. It was replaced by a stone church, probably built around 1630 at the expense of Count Johan Casimir Lewenhaupt of Raseborg, who died in 1634. That building had a tower-less nave, a porch to the south and a three-sided chancel to the east, along with a wooden bell tower housing a bell dating from 1689. It was demolished around 1888, shortly after the new church was completed.

The current building, designed by Emil Viktor Langlet and constructed in 1885–1886, is arranged as a centralised church around the chancel, with large galleries on four of its six sides and the organ positioned on the gallery opposite the altar. A distinctive lantern rises above the centre of the building, and slender wooden pillars support an unusually designed, panelled wooden ceiling with overhead lighting beneath a central tower. The white-rendered exterior was slightly altered when a sacristy was added during a 1991 renovation, at which point the original colour scheme was also restored; the interior was further remodelled in 2017.

Among the fittings, a Baroque-style pulpit rescued from the older church is displayed in the nave, and one of the old church's bells was transferred to the new building. An icon by Erland Forsberg stands on the altar table. The first organ, built in 1888 by Salomon Molander, retains its original silent façade on the west gallery, with the console unusually placed inside the organ case itself; a new mechanism was installed by Smedmans Orgelbyggeri in 1973.

A notable feature associated with the earlier church is the burial vault of the Leijonhufvud-Lewenhaupt family, owners of the Gräfsnäs and Koberg estates, which was originally reached from within the old nave. After that church's demolition, the vault became a freestanding, grass-covered structure northeast of the present building. It is also said to hold the remains of Baron Matthias Palbitzki, a diplomat and courtier from Pomerania, and members of the Gripenstedt family. The last burial reportedly took place in 1820. Conservation work began in 1939, and when the vault was opened again in 1964 the coffins were found to be fragmentary, with only two remaining intact; the vault was then resealed.

Opening hours

Opening hours have not been confirmed for the current date. This does not mean the church is closed.

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.

Contact & official information

Bjärke församling

Bjärke församling

Erska kyrka

Erska kyrka is a striking centrally-planned church near Sollebrunn, in Bjärke parish, Skara diocese. Built in the 1880s to replace an older church on the site, it is considered the best-preserved of the diocese's four central churches and stands beside an Iron Age burial field.

Erska byväg 23

Explore this church: Erska 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

Töreboda kyrka

Töreboda kyrka, in the centre of Töreboda, was built between 1868 and 1870 on Börstorps backe, replacing an earlier medieval church known as Björkängs kyrka. Its unusual north-south orientation and array of older furnishings make…

Töreboda kyrka, 54523, TÖREBODA

View church details: Töreboda kyrka
Basic listing

Marbäcks kyrka

Marbäcks kyrka, in the small community of Marbäck in Ulricehamn municipality, is a parish church whose origins may reach back to the twelfth century, though its present appearance dates largely from a nineteenth-century rebuilding.

View church details: Marbäcks kyrka
Basic listing

Fivlereds kyrka

Fivlereds kyrka is a parish church in the Floby pastorate, part of Åsarps församling in the Diocese of Skara. Its striking setting, on an islet encircled by the river Ätran and the lake Lönern, gives…

Fivlereds kyrka

View church details: Fivlereds 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: 8 Jun 2022. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 255483c4-f315-4d07-b584-3551e05ede6a

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.

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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.