Villstads kyrka

Little remains of the original medieval church, a Romanesque structure of which only the north nave wall survives. Over the centuries the building underwent repeated alteration, most notably during the 1700s, when it was extended westward and a porch was added. A more drastic rebuilding followed between 1788 and 1793, prompted by a growing congregation and the poor condition of the old fabric. The south wall, chancel, apse and part of the west wall were judged beyond repair and demolished, and a new church, complete with tower and oak-shingled roof, was completed in 1793 and consecrated the following year by Bishop Olof Wallquist.

Further renovation took place between 1868 and 1874, when window sills were lowered to let in more light and new pews, altar rail, gallery front and pillars were installed. Heating arrived only in 1891, in the modest form of two wood-burning stoves.

The most dramatic event in the church's history came on the night of 1 August 1910, when the recently renovated building was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, leaving only the walls standing. These surviving walls were incorporated into a new church, built by September 1912 and consecrated in August 1913. Remarkably, the pulpit and altarpiece were rescued from the flames, while most other fittings were newly made in a neoclassical style. The rebuilt church is constructed of stone, roughcast in white with smooth-rendered detailing; its roof, originally covered in red-painted wooden shingles, is now finished in black sheet metal, with copper cladding the tower spire.

Among the older furnishings, the pulpit dates from 1749, the work of Sven Segervall of Växjö, later fitted with a sounding board and restored to its original appearance in the twentieth century. An earlier pulpit from Villstad was sold on and now stands in a neighbouring church. The altarpiece is also attributed to Segervall's workshop, from the early eighteenth century, while the altar painting depicting the Resurrection was added in 1831 by the Stockholm painter Per Berggren, copying a composition by Fredric Westin. The church's organ has been rebuilt and replaced several times over the centuries, the current instrument dating from the 1960s.