Skip to main content

Klövsjö kyrka

Address
Kyrkvägen 1, Rätan
Municipality
Bergs Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Härnösand

Klövsjö kyrka is a wooden church in the village of Klövsjö, Jämtland, built in the 1790s and now part of Rätan-Klövsjö parish. It is notable for its illusionistic ceiling painting and an unusual tradition of manual bell-ringing that survives in its tower.



The present church was built between 1795 and 1797 by the farmer Pål Persson, replacing an older church building dating from the 1500s. Some fittings from that earlier church were retained and brought into the new building.

The church was originally painted red with a shingle roof, but its walls are now white, and since 1886 the roof has been covered in red-painted metal. The tower carries clock faces on all four sides, with the mechanism supplied by Westerstrands of Töreboda in 1959. The interior was cleaned and repainted during a restoration in 1971–1972.

Among the furnishings, the altarpiece was made in 1742 by Jonas Granberg for the previous church and later transferred here, while the pulpit dates from 1858 and is the work of Jöns Berglund. The mid-eighteenth-century interior also features a trompe-l'oeil, or illusionistic perspective, ceiling painting attributed to Per Sundin, a decorative technique intended to create a sense of greater architectural depth.

A distinctive feature is the pair of bells hanging in the tower, cast in Sundsvall — the larger in 1796 and the smaller in 1883 — which are still rung manually by treading, a practice said to have continued largely unchanged for around two centuries. The bells are rung differently depending on the occasion, including for funerals and the traditional Saturday evening call to worship.

The church also has a small museum adjoining the building, and the organ, built in 1900 by Åkerman & Lund and later enlarged, stands on a gallery large enough to seat fifty people.

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
  • Hearing loop

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

Rätan-Klövsjö församling

Klövsjö kyrka

Klövsjö kyrka is a wooden church in the village of Klövsjö, Jämtland, built in the 1790s and now part of Rätan-Klövsjö parish. It is notable for its illusionistic ceiling painting and an unusual tradition of manual bell-ringing that survives in its tower.

Kyrkvägen 1, Rätan

Explore this church: Klövsjö 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

Bruksvallarnas kapell

Bruksvallarnas kapell is a small chapel in the village of Bruksvallarna in western Härjedalen, in the mountains of Jämtland county. It belongs to the Tännäs-Ljusnedal parish of the Church of Sweden and can also serve…

Kyrkogårdsvägen 1, 84097, Bruksvallarna

View church details: Bruksvallarnas kapell
Basic listing

Gideå kyrka

Gideå kyrka is a wooden church in the village of Gideå, around twenty kilometres northeast of Örnsköldsvik, within Härnösands stift. Built in the early nineteenth century on the initiative of local ironworks owners, it remains…

Bergforsvägen 44, 89693, Gideå

View church details: Gideå 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: 20 Jul 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 6da82feb-3b3b-4ae0-8e5d-529cf8d098e5

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.