Östra Ryds kyrka

The church was built as a defensive structure as early as the 13th century, its rough walls constructed from grey fieldstone that is now whitewashed inside and out. Originally it had two aisles divided by a central row of pillars, with vaults added in the 15th century. During a major rebuilding between 1775 and 1777, the vaults and pillars were removed, a new roof structure was raised, and a tower was added in place of the earlier freestanding bell frame. Despite these changes, the church largely retains its medieval core beneath its 18th-century appearance.

The building today has a rectangular nave with a barrel-vaulted ceiling, large windows, a straight-ended chancel as wide as the nave, a sacristy to the north, and a west tower topped by a curved spire with a lantern. Later restorations have mainly involved decorative painting work rather than structural change.

Among the church's furnishings, the large limestone font is thought to have been in use since the church was first built in the 13th century, and is believed to have originally stood near the entrance so that those newly baptised could then be admitted into the church. It was carved in a Gotland workshop and features sixteen medallions with rosette patterns, some of which may have been added later by a local stonemason. A triumphal crucifix of carved wood, Romanesque in style but possibly reworked in the late Middle Ages, also survives from the church's early centuries, along with a brass font from 1683 and an altarpiece painted in 1851 depicting the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple.

The church's organ has its own long history, beginning with a five-stop instrument acquired in 1673, followed by a new organ built in 1777 by the organist and organ builder Lars Strömblad of Ödeshög. It has been repaired and altered by various organ builders over the following two centuries, with the most significant restoration carried out in the 1960s, when much of the historic pipework and disposition were reinstated.