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Kullerstads kyrka

Address
Runslingan
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Linköping

Kullerstads kyrka is a small stone church in Östergötland, near Skärblacka, whose plain exterior belies a history stretching back to the early 13th century. This guide draws on parish and encyclopaedic sources to outline its architecture, furnishings and the wooded burial ground beside it.



The church consists of a whitewashed nave and narrower, straight-ended chancel, both roofed with simple gables, with a later timber porch to the west and a sacristy added north of the chancel. It has no tower; instead a sturdy timber bell-frame stands in the churchyard, holding two bells. Sources agree the stone church dates from the early 1200s, though older suggestions of a preceding wooden church on the site remain unconfirmed speculation rather than established fact.

Inside, star-vaulted ceilings with rib-like mouldings cover both nave and chancel. Traces of medieval limewash paintings survive around the chancel arch, while later, more extensive decoration from the 1500s and the 1917 restoration was uncovered from beneath old plaster. The stone font, carved in the 13th century with leaf and mask motifs and a drainage hole for baptismal water, is counted among the church's oldest surviving furnishings. The mid-17th-century pulpit, dated by inscriptions to 1657 and 1658, stands near the chancel arch and carries carved figures of Christ and the four evangelists.

The chancel window holds a striking 1954 stained-glass design by the artist Brita Reich-Eriksson: a large red tulip against a blue ground, inspired by a biblical verse from the Book of Job reflecting on the brevity of human life. The stone altar table may also date from the medieval period. A carved wooden crucifix, given to the church in the 1920s, stands on the altar.//The church's organ history includes an early 18th-century instrument, a 19th-century rebuild, and further 20th-century work, culminating in a mechanical organ installed in the 1970s.

Beneath the chancel floor lies a vault of the noble Rosenstråle family, and several carved gravestones and funerary hatchments — ceremonial arms once carried in noble funeral processions — are preserved in the church, along with a 1622 memorial tablet to a former vicar and his family. Outside, at the entrance, a rune stone said to date from the 11th century was rediscovered built into the churchyard wall in 1969; local tradition holds that further inscribed stones may remain hidden there, though this is unconfirmed.

The churchyard itself shows two distinct phases: an older burial ground close to the church, later extended southward, and a separate woodland cemetery laid out in 1926, one of Sweden's earlier examples of this naturalistic style of burial ground, following the pioneering Ravenåsen cemetery in Karlskoga from 1905. Its informal planting, a small pond and waterfall, and a memorial grove reflect changing 20th-century attitudes to death and burial. Iron Age graves have also been identified nearby, marked with information signs.

Opening hours

Opening hours have not been confirmed for the current date. This does not mean the church is closed.

Additional opening information is awaiting translation. Check the official visitor-information link before travelling.

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.

Norrköpings Borgs församling

Kullerstads kyrka

Kullerstads kyrka is a small stone church in Östergötland, near Skärblacka, whose plain exterior belies a history stretching back to the early 13th century. This guide draws on parish and encyclopaedic sources to outline its architecture, furnishings and the wooded burial ground beside it.

Runslingan

Explore this church: Kullerstads 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

Ankarsrums kyrka

Ankarsrums kyrka, in Ankarsrum in Hallingeberg-Blackstads parish, is an unusual church built almost entirely of slag stone, a by-product of iron production at the local Ankarsrum works. The present building was completed and consecrated in…

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View church details: Ankarsrums kyrka
Basic listing

Grebo kyrka

Grebo kyrka, in Åtvidaberg parish in Östergötland, was built to replace two ageing medieval churches in the local pastorate. Completed in 1773, it is considered one of the county's most stylistically pure eighteenth-century churches, and…

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Vidingsjö kyrka

Vidingsjö kyrka is a modest wooden church on the edge of Linköping, notable for having begun life as a portable exhibition building before finding a permanent home. It now serves the Berga parish community amid…

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View church details: Vidingsjö 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: 28 May 2025. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: e15b3605-c6a6-49cf-8019-8c7ed90b9b0b

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.