Hedemora kyrka

The church was built in the late 1200s or early 1300s and is first mentioned in written records in 1362. During the 1400s one of the side aisles was extended, originally serving as a chancel chapel. The nave's roof is covered by three ribbed vaults from the late fifteenth century, two of which are decorated with carved figures appearing to hold up the ceiling with their arms — so-called "gubbvalv" (old-man vaults), a design once common in the Dalarna region.

The tower and porch at the church's western end were begun in 1523; before that, the entrance had been on the south side. The tower was originally topped by a tall spire from 1621, replaced in 1773 by the present lantern, attributed to the architect Carl Hårleman. The main chancel dates from 1724, built after the parish priest complained to the bishop that the old one was too small; the medieval straight chancel wall was demolished a few years later, and the altarpiece structure was completed around 1729–1730.

Besides the main chancel, the church has the so-called Anna Chapel, also known as the Garp Chapel, in the north, historically used by parishioners from Garpenberg before that community had its own church. It houses a triumphal crucifix said to date from the 1300s. A southern chapel, formerly dedicated to Catherine of Vadstena, was removed during renovation work around 2000.

The interior is whitewashed today, though medieval wall paintings — including a depiction of the betrothal of the Virgin Mary and a kneeling knight — were briefly uncovered during an 1884 restoration before being judged too faint and recovered. A consecration cross in the nave was rediscovered during works in the 1960s. The baroque pulpit, made in 1727 by Olof Gerdman of the Burchard Precht workshop, features a carved dove symbolising the Holy Spirit above the preacher, and large brass chandeliers donated by wealthy local families still hang from the ceiling.

Among the church's furnishings, a fifteenth-century door bearing carved merchant or craftsmen's marks survives on the rear wall of the nave; it was once thought to be far older and linked to a hypothetical chapel on a nearby ridge, though this has since been discounted. The font is carved from Uppland limestone and dates from the 1300s. The present altarpiece, painted in 1878 by Mårten Eskil Winge, replaced an earlier work from around 1730 by Johan Joachim Streng, which had reportedly been struck by lightning twice before being rolled up and stored; it was later restored and now hangs in the north aisle. The church organ, installed in 1967–68, retains its earlier case from 1757, valued for its aesthetic qualities, while a note in the church's history records a theft of communion silver in 1958, with some pieces recovered several years later.