Grangärde kyrka

The church was probably built in the late fifteenth century, though some older accounts have suggested an earlier date in that century. The original stone church was quite small, forming only the rear part of today's nave; traces of these early walls can still be seen where the nave meets the tower. The building reached its present width, with two side aisles, around 1700, while the chancel was extended to its current length in 1748. The tower gained its present form, including its lantern, in 1834.

On 1 July 1716 the church was badly damaged by fire after a lightning strike, which destroyed the tower, roof and pews and melted the bells. It was rebuilt with the help of a nationwide collection. A further, extensive restoration took place in 1901–1903 under architects Hagström & Ekman, in the taste of the period, which included a new sacristy, new portals, a new floor, new pews and updated heating. Much of this decorative work was later reversed in a renovation of 1937–38, though the four stained-glass windows in the chancel, depicting the symbols of the evangelists, remain from the 1901–1903 restoration.

The altarpiece, made in 1762 by the sculptor P. Holmin of Västerås, takes the form of a marble-effect sarcophagus decorated with gilded acanthus leaves. It depicts the Resurrection of Christ, though it is one of at least four altarpieces the church has had over time; an older painting of the Crucifixion, donated by a former vicar and his wife, now hangs on the south side of the church. Between 1903 and 1938 the altarpiece was temporarily replaced by a copy of a work by the Spanish master Jusepe de Ribera, painted by Ragnar Salwén and donated by a local mine director; this painting now hangs on the north side of the chancel.　

Of particular interest to visitors is the carved altar cabinet, contemporary with the church itself though housed in a later sixteenth-century case, which depicts a row of saints including Botvid, Birgitta of Vadstena, Sigfrid (shown with the heads of his murdered companions), Anna with Mary and the infant Jesus, Eskil, an unidentified female figure sometimes called Cecilia, and the apostle Peter. A separate wooden figure of St Olof, older than the altar cabinet and possibly predating the church itself, shows him trampling a troll beneath his feet, a traditional symbol of the defeat of paganism.

The church's bells have their own long history: records mention bells from the time of Gustav Vasa, and after the 1716 fire three new bells were cast locally in 1717–18 by Eric Näsman, a founder with roots in the area. The casting pit, still visible beneath a barn near the former vicarage, was also used to cast bells for several other churches in Dalarna.