Norra Finnskoga kyrka, a timber church at Höljes in Torsby kommun, was built in 1969 to designs by architect Lars Erik Havstad. It replaced an earlier building lost to fire, and stands as a striking example of mid-20th-century Swedish church architecture within a district long shaped by Finnish forest settlers.
The forested western districts of the old Dalby parish were colonised from the mid-1600s by immigrant forest Finns. As early as the 1720s, calls were made for these Finnish-dominated areas to be separated into their own parishes, largely because of the long journey to the parish church. A decision in 1826 established Norra and Södra Finnskoga as chapel parishes within Dalby, sharing a chapel preacher, and this made the building of a church a pressing matter.
A wooden church was duly erected in the 1830s, generally dated to the years 1834–1838, to designs by the architect Axel Nyström (also recorded as Per Axel Nyström). This building was destroyed by fire in February 1968, apparently sparked by a heat lamp used during renovation work to strip old paint. Many fixed fittings were lost, though a number of movable items had already been removed for the renovation and survived.
A new church was built on the same site the following year, designed by architect Lars Erik Havstad and completed in 1969. It is a timber building with a hall-shaped plan, a porch and sacristy tucked beneath the gallery, and a rectangular nave with a straight-ended chancel. The exterior is board-clad and painted white beneath a steep, copper-clad saddle roof; inside, laminated timber beams support a pine-panelled ceiling, and the floor is laid with Öland limestone. Windows run the length of the façade, with the light diminishing towards the top, an effect intended to emphasise the height and spaciousness of the interior.```end```. Architect Havstad also designed the altar, pulpit and font, the latter a plain wooden piece with four arms supporting a bowl and brass basin.
Among the church's most valued survivals from the fire are the 1935 altarpiece depicting the Crucifixion, by the artist Thor Fagerqvist, together with a chancel window of his design. The altarpiece was later complemented by a cross made by Heinz Decker. The church silver is also recorded as having been saved from the blaze.
The church's organ, built in 1969 by Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri of Gammelstad, replaced an earlier instrument by Olof Hammarberg of Gothenburg (1923) which was destroyed in the fire; an even earlier organ of five stops had stood in the previous church before 1923.
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Övre Älvdals församling
Övre Älvdals församling
Norra Finnskoga kyrka, a timber church at Höljes in Torsby kommun, was built in 1969 to designs by architect Lars Erik Havstad. It replaced an earlier building lost to fire, and stands as a striking example of mid-20th-century Swedish church architecture within a district long shaped by Finnish forest settlers.
Höljesvägen 54, 68065, Höljes
Explore this church: Norra Finnskoga kyrkaChurch information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.
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View church details: Karlanda kyrkaSources, 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: 10 Jan 2025. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: 8ffa97d5-5c01-417b-91ce-f10a264d7ff3
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.