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Villberga kyrka

Address
Villberga kyrka, 74951, Grillby
Municipality
Enköpings Kommun
Denomination
Church of Sweden
Associated diocese
Diocese of Uppsala

Villberga kyrka stands around 20 kilometres east of Enköping, just outside Grillby in Uppsala county. Dating from the 1200s, this modest medieval church retains much of its original character and houses a notable Flemish altarpiece and rare surviving wall paintings.



The church was built during the folkunga era, with its nave and chancel generally dated to between 1227 and 1280 by the art historian Gerda Boëthius. A sacristy and brick ribbed vaults were added around the mid-1300s, along with buttresses supporting the eastern end. The porch, standing slightly out of alignment with the nave, has been dated to roughly 1250–1350. Despite later window alterations, the exterior is said to have remained largely unchanged since medieval times, and both medieval lychgates in the churchyard wall survive.

The interior has seen more change. Mid-fifteenth-century wall paintings by an unknown artist of the Mälardalen school were later overpainted, traditionally attributed to Albertus Pictor or his workshop, towards the end of that century. In the mid-1700s the medieval paintings were limewashed over entirely and the church received much of its present fittings, including pews, organ gallery, organ case and pulpit. A restoration in 1907 under Sigge Cronstedt uncovered the earlier fifteenth-century paintings beneath the later layer, removing most of the Albertus Pictor-attributed work in the process, though one small scene was left visible. These paintings are considered iconographically unusual and rare examples of their kind.

The church's most celebrated treasure is its altarpiece, carved around 1510 in the Brussels workshop of Jan Borman, depicting the Passion with a smaller Nativity sequence. According to an old tradition, it was taken as war booty in Germany and arrived at Villberga in 1632, though this account cannot be independently confirmed. A fifteenth-century sacrament cabinet stands by the south wall of the chancel.

Fragments of a Gotland-style medieval font, thought to date from around 1300, survive alongside a later sandstone font from 1967, designed in imitation of the older piece. Brass chandeliers of varying dates, including examples inscribed with seventeenth- and eighteenth-century names, hang within the nave and sacristy.

A free-standing, timber-clad bell tower dating from 1728 stands just north of the churchyard wall. It was blown down in a storm the same year it was built, after which it stood for a time at a nearby site before being moved back to its original position in 1952.

Opening hours

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

Additional opening information is awaiting translation. Check the official visitor-information link before travelling.

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

Enköpings pastorat

Villberga kyrka

Villberga kyrka stands around 20 kilometres east of Enköping, just outside Grillby in Uppsala county. Dating from the 1200s, this modest medieval church retains much of its original character and houses a notable Flemish altarpiece and rare surviving wall paintings.

Villberga kyrka, 74951, Grillby

Explore this church: Villberga kyrka

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

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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: 17 Oct 2025. This is not an independent verification date.

Source record: 8ba6720b-18b4-4dc6-b8fb-1cfd973ca9be

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.