Nämdö kyrka

History

Nämdö kyrka is built of wood in a simple neo-Gothic style and was inaugurated in the autumn of 1876. The drawings were made by the master builder Gustaf Blomqvist and revised by the architect John Smedberg. The current church has had three known predecessors, the oldest from around 1630. A persistent tradition, maintained into the 1900s, has claimed that Nämdö had one of the oldest places of worship in Sweden. Some hold that a chapel was established in the year 870 by Ansgar's closest successors. Although this cannot be proven, it is not impossible that a chapel existed on Nämdö or Runmarö as early as the medieval period.

The church building

The church's exterior, with its period-typical panelling of alternating horizontal and vertical boards, is now painted white. It is believed that it was previously light beige with mouldings in a darker brownish-beige shade. The roof has been clad in black-painted sheet metal since 1912; previously the roof was covered with wooden shingles. Two bells hang in the tower. The large bell was donated by Lorentz Billing in 1750. In 1952 the smaller bell was donated by the fisherman Frans Öhman.

Furnishings

The interior of the church is painted in white and grey, and the altar wall is blue with gold stars. The pulpit and pew furnishings are contemporary with the church. Several items have been preserved from the predecessor churches. For example, the altar cabinet showing Christ as the Man of Sorrows, dating from the late 1400s. Two side figures, probably angels catching Christ's blood in a chalice, and the side doors are missing. It is believed that the altar cabinet was transferred to the first chapel from the mother church of Österhaninge.

A painting from around the 1700s depicting the Crucifixion is probably identical to the altarpiece in the 1702 chapel.

The baptismal font, in white-painted wood, was made in 1958 by Bernhard Nilsson. The model was the font in Djurö kyrka.

The church owns a copy of Gustav II Adolf's church bible from 1628. It was donated as early as 1629. There is also Karl XI's large church bible from 1702-1703, which was donated in 1714.

The church has a votive ship, a model of a Roslagen sailing vessel. The votive ship was made by the Swedish National Maritime Museum (Sjöhistoriska museet) and was put up in 1944.

The churchyard

The main part of the churchyard lies to the south of the church. The two oldest chapels also stood here. The churchyard was extended southward in 1962.