Skip to main content

Tegneby kyrka

Address
Tegneby kyrka, 473 97, Henån
Municipality
Orust
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Göteborg

Tegneby kyrka stands on slightly raised ground amid the open farmland of Orust, its whitened walls visible for some distance. The building combines a stone nave with a tower of stone and timber, the latter surviving from an earlier church on the same site.



The present church was built in 1891–92 to designs attributed to the architect Adrian (Crispin) Petersson, replacing a smaller medieval church. Rather than demolish everything, the builders kept the older tower — raised in stages between 1692 and 1705 — and joined it to the new nave. The church was originally built in an ornate Neo-Gothic style, though damp problems set in early, prompting repainting of the interior in 1905 and exterior repairs in 1911. A more thorough remodelling in 1937–38 smoothed away much of the Gothic detailing, rendering and whitening the façades so the church now reads more like a traditional Swedish parish church.

East of today's chancel lies an older five-sided chancel dating from the 1890s rebuilding. It served as the sacristy until the 1960s, when a new sacristy was created beneath the west gallery; the old chancel was later converted, in a further renovation of 1989–90, into a small subsidiary worship space known as the "lillkyrka", reached through a door behind the main altarpiece and retaining its original star-painted blue vault.

The altarpiece is a richly carved Baroque work, originally made around 1696 for Marstrand church and bought for Tegneby in 1807. It presents three scenes stacked vertically: a Last Supper relief at the base, a painted Crucifixion as the main image, and the Ascension above. For a period the paintings were replaced with plaster reliefs by the sculptor Carl Johan Dyfverman; when the original paintings were reinstated after restoration work in the late 1930s, Dyfverman's plaster Last Supper relief was left in place, while his Resurrection scene was rehung elsewhere in the church and his Crucifixion scene moved to the chapel at Nösund, also within the parish.

The carved Baroque pulpit dates from 1638 and is closely comparable to pulpits found in several other churches in Bohuslän. Its basket, decorated with the Evangelists and Danish-language biblical texts, is original, though the base and stairs were remade later. The pulpit stood in the old church before being moved to Nösund's chapel between 1912 and 1938, then returned to Tegneby and restored. The soapstone font, thought to date from the 1200s, is one of the oldest furnishings surviving from the medieval church.

Two bells hang in the tower: an older one from the late medieval period, repaired in the 1920s, and a smaller bell of 1855 recast in 1923. The organ was built in 1963 by the Hammarberg workshop. The church is also linked to a local pilgrim route on Orust, reflecting its long-standing role as a landmark in the district's religious life.

Opening hours

Opening hours have not been confirmed for the current date. This does not mean the church is closed.

Check access with the parish before travelling. Services and seasonal changes can affect visits.

Facilities & accessibility

  • Parking
  • Toilet
  • Hearing loop

Listed by the provider; availability has not been independently checked. An unlisted facility is not necessarily unavailable.

Orusts pastorat

Tegneby kyrka

Tegneby kyrka stands on slightly raised ground amid the open farmland of Orust, its whitened walls visible for some distance. The building combines a stone nave with a tower of stone and timber, the latter surviving from an earlier church on the same site.

Tegneby kyrka, 473 97, Henån

Explore this church: Tegneby kyrka

Church information: Svenska kyrkan, Platser · CC BY 4.0. Each church page includes its credits and visiting notes.

Other churches in the same diocese

Basic listing

Älvsåkers kyrka

Älvsåkers kyrka is a medieval parish church in Anneberg, north of Kungsbacka, within the Diocese of Gothenburg. Its whitewashed stone walls, painted ceiling and richly carved font make it a rewarding stop for visitors interested…

Älvsåkersvägen 147, 43496, KUNGSBACKA

View church details: Älvsåkers kyrka
Basic listing

Dagsås kyrka

Dagsås kyrka stands on the shore of Lake Ottersjön in Varberg municipality, Halland. Rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1912, the current church was designed by architect Axel Lindegren on the surviving medieval walls and…

Kyrkogatan 18, 43278, Tvååker

View church details: Dagsås kyrka

Sources & credits

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: 1 Sep 2026. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 7a518d70-192e-49ef-93dd-867fb856f799

Guide sources

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.

Suggest a correction

Church data retrieved 24 Sep 2026. Visiting details have not been independently verified.

Sources, licences & reuse

Independent guide

Churches in Sweden is an independent guide. It is not an official Svenska kyrkan website and does not imply sponsorship or endorsement.

Church information

Source: Svenska kyrkan — Platser, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. English adaptations by Churches in Sweden are identified on each profile. Our adaptations solely from Platser are offered under CC BY 4.0. Guides combining Wikipedia with other compatible sources are identified individually and offered under CC BY-SA 4.0; this covers that guide text, not the whole website. Separately credited third-party material retains its stated terms. Independently written descriptions are identified on their profiles. Imported material has not been independently verified. Original names and visiting details are retained; presentation is reformatted. Each profile identifies its source record and any additional supplied credits.

You may reuse the licensed church material under CC BY 4.0, including commercially, with the required attribution, licence link and indication of changes. No additional site restriction overrides those rights. The licence does not automatically cover separately credited images or map data.

Provider disclaimer

Svenska kyrkan supplies Platser data without guaranteeing that it is correct, current, complete across its organisation, or always available. The material is provided as-is and as-available, subject to the licence’s disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability.

Svenska kyrkan kan ej garantera att den data som finns i Platser:
– är korrekt.
– är aktuell.
– är komplett för hela Svenska kyrkans organisation.
– alltid är tillgänglig.

Preserved provider agreement · Full licence

Automatic diocese associations use the organisation codes from Svenska kyrkan UnitAPI. An association does not establish ownership or denomination. External editorial sources are credited separately.

Map and photographs

Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL and © OpenMapTiles. Tiles and style are served by World Class Maps. Map rendering uses MapLibre GL JS. The map’s own attribution remains visible.

Photographs are credited individually with their own licence or permission. The API data licence does not automatically cover photographs. No images are imported automatically.