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Hovby kyrka

Address
Hovby kyrka
Municipality
Lidköpings Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Skara

Hovby kyrka is a small, ancient parish church in Sävare parish, Skara diocese, near Lidköping in Västergötland. Visitors pass through a weathered medieval stone portal before entering a modest interior that still carries traces of its Romanesque origins.



The church's earliest fabric dates from the 1100s, when it was built in Romanesque style. The western part of the building, along with sections of the nave, survives from this first structure, as does the round-arched main portal and the medieval font, both still in place today. The original appearance of the chancel is no longer known, since it was rebuilt at an early stage.

By the 1600s the building had been altered into a Gothic hall church, with the chancel widened to match the nave and both brought under a single ridged roof. A timber porch stood near the west gable, and a wooden tower with a tall, pointed roof rose above the western end. A seventeenth-century description recorded that the church, formerly built of soapstone, had become so cracked and unstable that many props were needed to hold it together inside and out, and that it had no vaulting, only wooden panelling.

The decorative ceiling paintings seen today date from the mid-1700s, adding colour to what is otherwise a plain, functional interior. The pulpit and altar ornaments are attributed to the 1600s, reflecting the church's later reworking as a hall church.

A notable survival in the churchyard is a gravestone belonging to a Romanesque stone coffin from the 1100s, a rare physical link to the building's earliest congregation. Historical notes also mention a burial near the porch door marked by two finely carved stone crosses, though by the later seventeenth century burials there had become rare.

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

  • Toilet
  • Hearing loop

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

Sävare församling

Hovby kyrka

Hovby kyrka is a small, ancient parish church in Sävare parish, Skara diocese, near Lidköping in Västergötland. Visitors pass through a weathered medieval stone portal before entering a modest interior that still carries traces of its Romanesque origins.

Hovby kyrka

Explore this church: Hovby 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

Acklinga kyrka

Acklinga kyrka is a late 18th-century parish church in the north-western part of Tidaholm Municipality, Västra Götaland. Built to replace a medieval predecessor, it now forms part of Varv parish within the Diocese of Skara.

522 93, Tidaholm

View church details: Acklinga kyrka
Basic listing

Toarps kyrka

Toarps kyrka is a Gustavian-style parish church set on a hill just outside Dalsjöfors, near Borås. The present building was consecrated in 1783, replacing a medieval predecessor on the same site.

TOARP, 516 90, Dalsjöfors

View church details: Toarps kyrka
Basic listing

Hångsdala kyrka

Hångsdala kyrka is a small parish church in Tidaholm municipality, Västra Götaland, whose oldest parts date back to the second half of the 12th century. Set within Skara diocese, it retains striking Romanesque and medieval…

522 92, Tidaholm

View church details: Hångsdala kyrka

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 Apr 2023. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 371e92db-4551-4e7e-b684-6561160b3d39

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.