Kolbäcks kyrka is one of five churches in the Hallstahammar-Kolbäck parish, standing where the Kolbäcksån river forms a distinctive S-curve. Its striking silhouette and long architectural history make it a notable stop for visitors exploring rural churches in Västmanland.
The western part of the church is thought to date from the late 1100s or early 1200s, when a Romanesque stone church was built here with a nave, apse and west tower. The nave was extended around 1300, and during the 1400s the tower and the present chancel were added, giving the building much of its current form.
A dramatic turning point came on a Sunday in June 1785, when lightning struck and set fire to the church's spire. The blaze destroyed the entire tower, the nave's roof and all its windows, and damaged the interior. Repairs took about three years, during which the steep medieval roof was replaced with the lower, broken roof still seen today. In place of the burnt spire, the distinctive lantern crowned with four urns bearing gilded flames was erected, a design possibly by Dan Wahlström, a master mason from nearby Strömsholm.
Inside, the vaulted ceiling comprises four star vaults, and the chancel contains gravestones from the 1600s and 1700s. The chancel window is set within a Baroque-style altar ornament featuring two carved trees with gilded foliage, while the altar itself, along with its three-sided altar rail, dates from a substantial 1940 renovation overseen by architect Bernhard Schill, when the pews were also given marbled fronts in an 18th-century style.
Among the church's furnishings is a triumphal crucifix dating from the 1300s. The octagonal Baroque pulpit, carved with gilded acanthus leaves, was made by sculptor Nicolaus Schenander and is said to have been dedicated on Midsummer's Eve in 1701. The modern font, the work of an artist from Västerås, depicts the motif of a deer at a spring.
The church has had several organs over the centuries, including an instrument moved here from Ramnäs kyrka in 1840, itself originally built in 1707 by the noted organ builder Johan Niclas Cahman. The current organ, built in 1981, retains the earlier instrument's Empire-style façade.
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Hallstahammar-Kolbäcks församling
Hallstahammar-Kolbäcks församling
Kolbäcks kyrka is one of five churches in the Hallstahammar-Kolbäck parish, standing where the Kolbäcksån river forms a distinctive S-curve. Its striking silhouette and long architectural history make it a notable stop for visitors exploring rural churches in Västmanland.
Kyrkvägen 3, 734 51, Kolbäck
Explore this church: Kolbäcks kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
Mockfjärds kyrka stands beside the Västerdalälven, where the river widens into Storfjärden in the village of Mockfjärd, Dalarna. This white timber church dates from 1700, replacing an earlier 1620s chapel on the same site.
Hedvägen 19, 785 42, GAGNEF
View church details: Mockfjärds kyrkaBjursås kyrka serves Bjursås parish in Dalarna, part of the Diocese of Västerås. This spacious neoclassical church, built at the turn of the 19th century, was designed to seat the entire population of the parish.
Bävervägen 1A, 79021, BJURSÅS
View church details: Bjursås kyrkaFolkärna kyrka is the parish church of Folkärna, in the Diocese of Västerås, Dalarna. Its churchyard is the resting place of the poet Erik Axel Karlfeldt and the sculptor Björn Lövin, and the building's long,…
Kapellgatan 6, 77551, KRYLBO
View church details: Folkärna kyrkaLocation and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
BINGSJÖ LAMBORNSVÄGEN 21, 790 26, Enviken
View church details: Bingsjö kapellSources, credits and English adaptations are identified on each church page. Provider data: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0.
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: 7 Apr 2025. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: e01e3516-7a14-4f24-8257-7e48499d9938
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.