Önsta Gryta kyrka is a modern church serving the Önsta-Gryta district of Västerås, built to replace an earlier, smaller church nearby. Consecrated in 2007, it is known for hosting family activities and some strikingly unconventional artworks.
The Önsta-Gryta neighbourhood grew rapidly from the late 1970s, and its first church, designed by architect Peter Paul Hoffman, opened in 1984. Within a couple of decades this building had become too small for the growing congregation. Rather than extend it, the parish built an entirely new church beside the older Gryta farm buildings, and the original church was sold to a Syrian Orthodox congregation, which fitted it out for their own use.
The present church, designed by architect Nina Åström of Sweco, was consecrated on Easter Day, 8 April 2007. It stands on a low hill within a residential area, its white-rendered worship space rising above surrounding glazed sections and painted panelling. Large windows bring the surrounding green space into the interior. To the west, the complex incorporates the early twentieth-century former farmhouse of Gryta gård, now rendered in pale yellow and used for kitchen and children's activities; two older farm outbuildings survive to the south, one dating from the eighteenth century.
Inside, the church hall is light and high-ceilinged, with the altar set in a corner beneath windows and open pews arranged at an angle facing it. Several fittings, including a processional cross, lectern and font stand, were carried over or newly made to match pieces from the earlier church, along with an altar painting originally created as a stained-glass window there.
The church is particularly noted for two unusual devotional artworks. A full-size copy of Bertel Thorvaldsen's statue of the risen Christ, familiar from Vor Frue Kirke in Copenhagen, was built from around 30,000 Lego bricks and unveiled in 2009 to mark the church's second anniversary; the design was worked out with help from a local technical school, with parishioners assembling the piece. Above the gallery hangs a large bead-mosaic version of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, roughly 7.5 by 1.5 metres and made from some 450,000 beads, a project completed in 2011 with contributions from around a thousand local schoolchildren and teachers.
A bell weighing 315 kg, cast in 1984 for the original church's bell tower, now hangs in the open bell tower of the current building.
Provider-listed schedule, applicable on 12 Oct 2026. All times are local to Sweden.
| Monday | 09:00–15:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 09:00–15:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:00–15:00 |
| Thursday | 09:00–15:00 |
| Friday | 09:00–12:00 |
| Saturday | Not listed |
| Sunday | Not listed |
Check access with the parish before travelling. Services and seasonal changes can affect visits.
Listed by the provider; availability has not been independently checked. An unlisted facility is not necessarily unavailable.
Västerås pastorat
Västerås pastorat
Önsta Gryta kyrka is a modern church serving the Önsta-Gryta district of Västerås, built to replace an earlier, smaller church nearby. Consecrated in 2007, it is known for hosting family activities and some strikingly unconventional artworks.
Önstavägen 14, 72243, Västerås
Explore this church: Önsta Gryta 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: Kung Karls 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: 19 May 2026. This is not an independent verification date.
Source record: ee20ee3c-db3a-4aab-b8a0-12e7771a9468
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.