Hjärtums kyrka

The parish is characterised by participation and care, as well as lively activities for children and families. We celebrate services every Sunday at 10:00 and a praise mass one Tuesday a month at 18:00.

The church lies west of the Göta Älv river, about 6 km north of Lilla Edet. Hjärtums kyrka probably dates from the 1200s. In 1388 it was mentioned for the first time in Bishop Eysteinn's land register: "Consecrated to Saint Martin and Saint Nicolaus, 10 November", the patron saints of the poor and of pilgrims.

The churchyard surrounding Hjärtums kyrka has not been in use since 1901, when the ground was levelled and trees were planted on the lawn. Only a few memorial monuments remained, following earlier agreements between the church council and the grave owners.

The former sacristy at the front of the church - behind the altar - was built in 1672 as a burial chancel for Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Rosensköld, and remained a burial chancel until 1901, when it was converted into a sacristy. During renovation and rebuilding in 2017, a new sacristy and accessible toilet were built, the gallery was extended, and a pantry with a common room was built beneath the gallery.

In the churchyard now stands a limestone sarcophagus belonging to Colonel Rutger Maclean (died 1748), which before 1901 was placed in the burial chancel. The sarcophagus contains a coffin in which his remains rest. The sarcophagus also marks the shared burial grave where the 18 coffins that had previously been in the burial chancel were laid to rest, containing the embalmed remains of the Maclean, Ribbing and Bennet families.

In 1960 a funeral chapel/mortuary was built to the northwest, outside the churchyard wall. It is partly built into the ground, with a facade clad in granite.

Hjärtum is a junction for several European pilgrim routes - from Lödöse in the south, Orust and Ljungskile in the west, and Vänersborg in the north. The route between Grinneröd and Ljungskile was inaugurated in November 2014. This links the routes from Orust and Ljungskile with the network of pilgrim paths that aims to connect Santiago de Compostela in Spain with Nidaros (Trondheim) in Norway.

The Wayside Church (Vägkyrkan) in Hjärtum is open for two weeks in July. Guided viewing of the church. Refreshments. Craft exhibition and sales. Devotions. The local heritage museum open. The Wayside Church in Hjärtum first opened in 1993 and has continued every year since. Due to Covid-19, it was instead run as a Summer Church in 2020 and 2021.

Read more about Hjärtums kyrka and Hjärtums kyrkogård.