Kungsåra kyrka stands on a hill in Kungsbyn, near Västerås, and is thought to be the third church on this site. Its most celebrated connection is with a copy of what is believed to be Sweden's oldest surviving piece of furniture, the so-called Kungsåra bench.
A wooden church is thought to have stood here as early as the 1200s, a date suggested by a surviving stone font from that period. A later medieval stone church, built in the mid-1300s in a Gothic style, replaced it, though by the mid-1700s this building had fallen into serious disrepair. Old records describe cracking masonry propped up with makeshift supports and iron rods binding the walls together.
Between 1751 and 1752 most of the medieval church was demolished, apart from its foundations and the medieval sacristy, and a new church was built in grey stone under master mason Alexander Högman. The tower, originally intended to be taller, had to be completed in stages after cracks appeared in the masonry, and was not finished until 1772. The present altarpiece was installed in 1784, marking the end of over thirty years of construction work.
Problems with vaulting continued even after completion. A vaulted stone ceiling was judged unsafe and dismantled in 1802, replaced by the wooden barrel vault seen today. Further changes followed through the 1800s, including a new organ loft, altered windows and replacement of the roof covering. The most recent major reordering of the interior took place in the 1950s, when the pulpit and altarpiece were cleaned of later overpainting to reveal their original colours.
Among the church's furnishings, the pulpit dates from 1643 and is one of the few items retained from the medieval church, decorated with carved figures of Christ and the four evangelists. A large medieval crucifix, around two metres tall, hangs on the south wall of the nave and may be contemporary with the earlier medieval church. Two bells hang in the tower, with origins traced to the 1500s, though both have since been recast.//
The church's best-known association, however, is with the early medieval Kungsåra bench, believed by some to be Sweden's oldest surviving piece of furniture. The original is held at the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm and has been dated stylistically to somewhere between the 11th and 12th centuries; a copy, made by a local craft teacher in 1982, is kept in the church today.
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Västerås pastorat
Västerås pastorat
Kungsåra kyrka stands on a hill in Kungsbyn, near Västerås, and is thought to be the third church on this site. Its most celebrated connection is with a copy of what is believed to be Sweden's oldest surviving piece of furniture, the so-called Kungsåra bench.
Kungsåra, 725
Explore this church: Kungsåra kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
Location and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
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Hörken 173, 772 94, Grängesberg
View church details: Hörkens kyrkaFloda kyrka, in Dala-Floda, is first mentioned in a document of 1332 and has grown from a small medieval structure into the spacious two-nave church seen today. Its character owes much to an 18th-century rebuilding,…
Floda Församling Kyrkbyvägen 2
View church details: Floda kyrkaLocation and available visiting information. A fuller English guide is still to be added.
Kaplansgården Laxbrogatan 17, Kopparberg
View church details: GravkapelletSources, 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: 19 May 2026. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: 1b295205-8953-4d63-a869-7284a58d86b1
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.