Torskinge kyrka

The oldest parts of the building date from the late 1100s or early 1200s, when it was raised as a simple Romanesque church of grey stone comprising nave, chancel and eastern apse. Its walls are said to be around a metre thick, packed internally with fine sand rather than being solid masonry. The church was extended westwards in the early 1700s, and a gallery was added in 1783. A detached bell tower, enclosed with boarding and holding two bells, was built in 1678.

The most far-reaching change came with a thorough renovation of 1903–05 to designs by the architect Gustaf Hermansson, which gave the interior a National Romantic character still visible today: a flat wooden ceiling in the nave, cross-vaulting over the chancel, enlarged windows, and a new porch on the south side.

In the nineteenth century the church came close to being demolished. Citing a royal proclamation of 1830, the diocese and Bishop Tegnér proposed that Torskinge and neighbouring Forsheda should share a single new church, to be built at Forsheda. The parishioners of Torskinge resisted strongly, petitioning the king on more than one occasion; local tradition recalls a parishioner, Lars Eriksson of Uddagård, travelling on foot to Stockholm to press the case. After some three decades of dispute the matter was settled amicably and the parish kept its own church.

Among the furnishings, the richly gilded, round pulpit with its angel carvings is attributed to Sven Nilsson Morin of Gnosjö, sometimes locally nicknamed the district's Leonardo da Vinci. The font is of sandstone and dates from the 1200s, and a triumphal crucifix in the church is thought by some to be the work of a French master of the 14th century, though such attributions should be treated with caution. An hourglass from 1696 survives among the fittings, and the church owns three bridal crowns, one of which — a rare pearl crown — is said to originate from Russia.

A notable vestment associated with the church, a chasuble embroidered with a gold forked cross and depicting the legend of St Lucia, is believed to have been made in the Netherlands at the end of the 15th century; it is no longer at Torskinge but is held by the Historical Museum in Stockholm. The current organ was built in 1875 by Johannes Andersson of Långaryd and later renovated.