Föra kyrka

The earliest known church here was a wooden stave church dating from the 11th century; timbers from it are said to survive, built into the present west tower. A stone church was raised around the middle of the 12th century, beginning with an apse choir and continuing through a nave to the substantial west tower. Soon after completion, the apse choir was rebuilt as an east tower, giving the church two towers in a so-called "cloven-gable" arrangement, each with several storeys.

The upper, non-liturgical floors of the nave and towers are thought to have served a defensive purpose, offering the local population shelter and a place to make a stand during troubled times, as well as more everyday uses in peacetime. During the 13th century the interior was probably vaulted, and in the 14th century stained glass was added to the choir windows. By the late 1500s the building had fallen into poor repair, though the 17th century brought some improvements, including a bell tower and new fittings.

By the 18th century the church was proving too small for its congregation, and in 1819 the decision was taken to build anew. Carl-Gustaf Blom-Carlsson drew up a design, and building work under master builder Petter Ekholm of Borgholm began in 1827, completed the following year. The result is the empire-inspired, classicist nave seen today, with a sacristy behind the east end and timber barrel vaulting inside. The medieval west tower was retained and given an eight-sided lantern for the bells.

Inside, the medieval altar slab, kept beneath the gallery, and a font bowl carved from Gotland limestone in the 13th century are among the oldest surviving furnishings. A 15th-century figure of Christ, now mounted on a 1955 cross, and carved figures thought to represent Saint Nicholas and Saint Paul also survive from the medieval church. The elaborate gilded altarpiece dates from 1777, with a pulpit from 1762 painted by the same workshop. A votive ship named Vega, given to the church in 1959, is a more recent but appealing addition.

The larger of the two bells in the tower was cast in 1637, though the founder's identity is uncertain; the smaller bell followed in 1863. The church's organ was rebuilt in 1955, retaining the façade of an earlier 1872 instrument.