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Fristads kyrka

Address
513 96, Fristad
Municipality
Borås Stad
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Skara

Fristads kyrka, in the village of Fristad north of Borås, was built as a joint parish church in 1850, replacing both the earlier Fristad and Gingri churches. It remains a striking example of the plain, classical Karl Johan-style churches common in the region.



The decision to build a shared church for the parishes of Fristad and Gingri was taken in 1830, and the new building rose just north of the site of Fristad's medieval church, which was then demolished along with the old Gingri church. It was completed in 1850 by the master builder Petter Pettersson of Sandhult, one of the so-called Sandhult builders responsible for around twenty churches in the district, and this was among his last commissions.

The church has a rectangular nave with a semicircular chancel to the east and a tower to the west, all built of stone with roughcast walls pierced by large round-arched windows. The nave and vestry roofs are slate-covered, while the rounded chancel roof and the tower are clad in copper, the tower topped by an open, copper-clad lantern crowned with a cross. Inside, the church is notably light and spacious, an impression reinforced by a major renovation in 1972–73 that adjusted the floor plan, added a small side room known as the Gingri room beneath the gallery, and introduced a new stone floor, pews and altar table.

Several older furnishings survive. The altarpiece, depicting a Golgotha scene, dates from 1753 and was brought from the earlier church, though its gilded frame was added a century later. The pulpit, with its sounding board and five-sided body, was carved in 1862, while a green marble font dates from 1916. At the back of the church stand wooden sculptures of biblical figures made in 1958 by Ivar Lindekrantz. Three bells hang in the tower, two of them of medieval origin, one inherited from the demolished Gingri church.

The story of Gingri church itself is remembered nearby: demolished in 1862, its foundations were excavated in 1928, and a memorial bell-tower was erected on the old church site in 1937, with a hedge marking the outline of the vanished building. A separate ruined church at Längjum, north of Fristad, survived until the 1860s, when its stone was reused in railway construction; a memorial stone now marks that site too.

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

  • Parking
  • Toilet
  • Wi-Fi
  • Hearing loop
  • Ramp
  • Accessible toilet

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

A listed ramp does not confirm step-free access throughout the building.

Fristads församling

Fristads kyrka

Fristads kyrka, in the village of Fristad north of Borås, was built as a joint parish church in 1850, replacing both the earlier Fristad and Gingri churches. It remains a striking example of the plain, classical Karl Johan-style churches common in the region.

513 96, Fristad

Explore this church: Fristads 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

Caroli kyrka

Caroli kyrka stands in the centre of Borås, just above Stora torget, and is the city's oldest surviving building, seating around 900 people. Known to locals simply as Carolikyrkan, it remains the principal church of…

Skolgatan 1

View church details: Caroli kyrka
Basic listing

Högåskyrkan

Högåskyrkan is a twentieth-century parish church in the centre of Tibro, in Skara diocese, Västra Götaland County. Formerly known as Tibro nya kyrka, it stands as one of the diocese's clearest examples of modernist church…

Kyrkogatan 2, Tibro

View church details: Högåskyrkan

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: 18 Jun 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: ecb1ced7-6539-49ee-b8ec-834e5b8ab3d6

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.