Övergrans kyrka

The church began as a small Romanesque building of the twelfth century, with a narrower chancel ending in an apse. Only the western part of the present nave survives from this original structure. A tower was added around the thirteenth century, and later in that century the nave was extended eastward and a sacristy built. Around 1460 the timber barrel vaults were replaced with brick vaults, and a porch was added at this time.

The building continued to evolve after the Middle Ages. In 1718 the western entrance was opened up and the porch converted into a transept. The tower was rebuilt with a Baroque cupola in 1736, then substantially altered again in 1786, when the tower vault was removed, the windows given their present round-arched form, and the medieval wall paintings limewashed over. The tower reached its current Empire-style appearance in 1829, to designs by the architect Jakob Wilhelm Gerss, and it was at this time that the church bells were moved into the tower from a separate bell frame.

Further changes followed in the twentieth century. A restoration in 1905, led by Gustaf Améen, converted the porch into a burial chapel and gave the chancel window its present round shape. The building was fitted with warm-air heating, later replaced by electric heating. Most significantly, a 1972 restoration under the architect Ove Hidemark uncovered the late medieval wall paintings that had been hidden since the eighteenth century, and the pulpit's original colour scheme was also recovered at this time.

The wall paintings themselves are the church's principal attraction, regarded by tradition as one of Albertus Pictor's earliest independent works, though as with much attribution of this period some uncertainty remains. The stone font, of a plain round design on a square base, dates from the late twelfth century, making it one of the oldest furnishings in the building. A processional crucifix of Swedish workmanship dates from the mid-fourteenth century.

Other notable furnishings include a pulpit donated to the church in 1670 by Ebba Brahe, later rebuilt and repainted more than once before its historic colours were restored in 1972. On the organ gallery balustrade stand thirteen carved figures of saints, installed in 1717 but thought to originate from a late medieval altar cabinet, while the current altarpiece, incorporating a crucifix surrounded by carved figures, was supplied by the sculptor Carl Spaak in 1716. Runic stones are also preserved on the church grounds.