Menu Close

Granhults kyrka

24 June 2021 / 13 Comments

Granhult church in Småland - Sweden's oldest wooden church

To FREEDOMtravel
Advertisement

Granhult Church in Småland is Sweden's oldest wooden church. This fine little wooden church, dating from the 1220s, survived against all odds and is today a fascinating attraction. Not least, it is fantastic to see all the old paintings and decorations in wood.

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
Share
Share

Granhult church

Granhult Church is an exceptionally well-preserved medieval church. It's charming on the outside, but it's most interesting to step inside and see the interiors.

Granhults kyrka - Sveriges äldsta träkyrka

Granhult's church is located in Norrhult in Småland, about four miles north-east of Växjö.

Sweden's oldest wooden church

Granhult's church was built in the 13th century, so the small wooden building is around 800 years old. Isn't that fascinating?

The church has of course been rebuilt and changed over the years. The sacristy was built in the 17th century. In the 18th century, the bell tower and the porch were built, as well as the stiglucka, the small building that serves as a gateway.

Granhults kyrka - Sveriges äldsta träkyrka

The fight against Esaias Tegnér - to keep the church

The fact that Granhult's church is still standing today is not a matter of course. In the early 19th century there was a large increase in population and in connection with this new churches were built, which were larger and more functional. Esaias Tegnér advocated that the old medieval churches should be demolished, and that was the fate that met most of these churches.

Not everyone liked Esaias Tegnér's large neoclassical churches, and some condescendingly called them 'Tegnér barns'. The locals in Granhult wanted not that their church would be demolished. They had to fight hard for their cause, and were eventually allowed to keep the building, even though it was no longer used as a church. Thanks to this, today we can step inside this medieval old wooden church.

Granhults kyrka - Sveriges äldsta träkyrka

Beautiful interiors

Entering Granhult's church is truly amazing. The small building is richly decorated with interiors dating mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries. The altarpiece and crucifix, for example, were made by Torbern Röding in 1699.

On the south wall of the chancel, there is a 'hagioscope', a peephole where people could take part in the service even if they were not welcome, for example because of a contagious disease.

Sveriges äldsta träkyrka
Sveriges äldsta träkyrka
Sveriges äldsta träkyrka

The pulpit was made in 1669 on behalf of the vicar of Nottebäck. However, the beautiful acoustic roof (as the pulpit roof is apparently called) is older and belonged to an earlier pulpit.

Sveriges äldsta träkyrka

Most of the paintings in the choir and nave were made by the church decorator Johan Christian Zschotzscher in 1753, depicting motifs from the fourth and fifth chapters of the Book of Revelation.

Sweden's oldest wooden church also contains several items from the Middle Ages. These include a late medieval priest's bell (used when a Catholic priest lifts the wafer), a St Olav's cabinet from the 14th century and a Madonna sculpture in oak from 1475.

Granhults kyrka
Granhults kyrka
Granhults kyrka

The cute little wooden organ is much more recent, built in 1969, but still fits nicely into the church.

Orgel i Granhults kyrka

The sacristy was probably built in the 17th century, when it was also decorated with fine paintings. The murals have the following motifs:

  • God warns Adam and Eve
  • The fall from grace
  • The expulsion from paradise
  • Abraham's sacrifice

In summary, we can say that this was a very nice and interesting little church visit. If you have the roads past Granhult's church, do not hesitate to look in!

See more in the neighbourhood

If you like churches, take the opportunity to see Dädesjö Old Church, which is only 15 minutes away by car. You can also continue to Växjö, where you can see Växjö Cathedral, Småland Museum and more, Teleborg Castle and Kronoberg castle ruins. It is also interesting to visit Huseby mill, and it is also not too far to the beautiful city centre. the coastal town of Kalmar.

All our top tips for holidays in Småland

Have you visited Granhult Church - Sweden's oldest wooden church? Do you like visiting old churches? Perhaps you have more tips on nice churches to visit?

Facts about Granhult's church

  • Address: Granhult 2, Norrhult
  • Pin: Växjö Diocese
  • Parish: Nottebäck parish
  • Municipality: Uppvidinge
  • County: Kronoberg County
  • Landscape: Småland
  • Inaugurated: 1220s
  • Faith communities: Church of Sweden
  • Read more: You can find more information at church website

History of Granhult Church

  • 1220s: Sweden's oldest wooden church was built (according to dendrochronological analysis of the timber).

17th to 18th century

  • 17th century: The sacristy was built and painted.
  • 1703: The bell tower was built.
  • 1723: The armoury was built.
  • 1731: The escape hatch was erected.
  • 18th century: New windows were installed, replacing the old ones.

19th century to present

  • 1818: The small bell was recast after it fell down the hill and cracked.
  • 1837: The church was taken out of use when, together with the neighbouring parish, "Nottebäck with Granhult Parish" was formed with the newly built Nottebäck Church in Nottebäck. The parishioners refused to have Granhult's church demolished.
  • 1879: Granhult's church was again authorised to serve as a place of worship.

You might also like:

Kronobergs slottsruinKronoberg castle ruins in Växjö - Vasa and the Dacke feud Kalmar läns museumKalmar läns museum - about the regal ship Kronan Göra i KalmarThings to do in Kalmar - 17 tips for experiences and attractions Lessebo hand-paper mill - try making paper UtvandrarbygdenThe emigrant village in Småland - in the footsteps of Vilhelm Moberg
InformationGlasriket
Things to do in Glasriket - 25 tips for sights and experiences

Subscribe to our newsletter

24 June 2021 6:00
Sweden
, , ,

Next post

We wish you a very happy midsummer!

Previous post

Kronoberg castle ruins in Växjö - Vasa and the Dacke feud

Administrator

12 Comments

Add yours →

  1. Solan says:

    I've never heard of the Hagio cabinet. Yet another must-visit attraction.
    Now calm down, we won't be able to see everything you suggest!
    Stress! 😉
    Have a really nice midsummer, we are heading to Hälsingland! 🍹

    24 June 2021 - 8:00

    Reply

  2. Role o Carina says:

    Isn't it fantastic with old wooden churches, what a construction they have done!
    We also visit churches on our motorhome trips.

    Happy Midsummer...

    24 June 2021 - 8:32

    Reply

  3. Jörgen A says:

    Aren't old churches fantastic? In fact, we usually plan our travel route based on old churches. It is guaranteed to be longer than the "straight track" but oh what a lot of nice things you get to see! We have an incredible cultural heritage in our old churches that are well worth preserving. We have visited Granhult, an incredibly beautiful church.
    There are many fine churches in Småland; the Swedish Church's leaflet on the churches of Högland and Njudj is a good place to look. The Njudung churches are also churches that escaped the "Tegnér barns":
    https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/Sve/Bin%c3%a4rfiler/Filer/H%c3%b6glandets%20kyrkor.pdf
    Visit Småland is also good to look at, covering a few more churches:
    https://www.visitsmaland.se/sv/upplevelser/kultur-och-historia/sevarda-kyrkor
    We have visited so many churches by now that it is almost difficult to choose, haha. But one church that we always come back to is Älvros old church a bit east of Sveg along the E45 motorway. Likewise Härkeberga church outside Enköping, absolutely fantastic paintings by Albertus Pictor. A little more "murderous" is Bottnaryd's church, a red wooden church with incredibly beautiful paintings. Bottnaryd is located along national road 40, just under 25 km west of Jönköping. Rimbo church with its very well-preserved paintings is also well worth a visit.
    But there's plenty more to visit, of course - Uppland and Västmanland are full of medieval churches. Likewise Västergötland. There are said to be around 3700 church buildings in Sweden so there is hardly any lack of ideas 🙂.

    24 June 2021 - 9:31

    Reply

    • Comment by post author

      Helena says:

      But oh, thank you for this comment and for all the tips! I looked at the links, very useful and interesting there! Many thanks also for all the personal tips! All 3700 are a bit in the most team, so you have to choose the goodies 😉 Wishing you a nice midsummer!

      25 June 2021 - 10:41

      Reply

  4. Ama de casa says:

    What a fantastic church! A lovely parlour as well 😀

    Have fun!

    24 June 2021 - 9:37

    Reply

  5. Ann-Louise Paulsson says:

    I've driven past the turnoff here hundreds of times but never been here. And I love old churches. Will make sure to go there already next week as we will be in Vetlanda then. Thanks for the tip! And there are many other nice old churches a few miles away (around Vetlanda) such as Myresjö old church and Lannaskede old church.

    24 June 2021 - 9:41

    Reply

  6. BP says:

    That church was really cute and incredibly charming. The paintings inside the small church were really nice. Somehow I had not expected these paintings at all considering the material is wood.

    24 June 2021 - 18:35

    Reply

1 Pingback

  1. Things to do in Växjö - 14 tips for sights and experiences | FREEDOMtravel

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ABOUT FREEDOMtravel

FREEDOMtravel is a digital travel magazine, launched in 2009, and operated by FREEDOMtravel AB. The magazine has about 120,000 unique readers/month according to Google Analytics.

Here you will find over 4000 stories on travel, adventure and camping - a new article every morning at 06:00.

CEO and responsible publisher: Peter Bergström

Editor-in-Chief: Helena Bergström

Peter och Helena FREEDOMtravel resemagasin

CONTACT US

Feel free to contact us for questions, tips and cooperation proposals!

FREEDOMtravel: kontakt@freedomtravel.se

The editorial team: redaktion@freedomtravel.se

Social media and newsletters

Feel free to follow us on social media, or fill in your email address below to receive our weekly newsletter with this week's stories.

Facebook: @freedomtravelnews

Instagram: @freedomtravelnews

Youtube: @freedomtravelnews

SEARCH AND FIND ON FREEDOMTRAVEL

Use the search box or browse the categories and archives. You can also scroll to the menu at the top of the page, where you will find country-by-country and landscape-by-landscape destination reports, as well as themed roads, car parks and much more.

Categories

Archive

Cookies
We serve cookies. If you think that's OK, just click "Accept all". You can also choose what kind of cookies you want by clicking "Settings".
Settings Refuse all Accept all
Cookies
Choose what kind of cookies to accept. Your choice will be saved for one year.
Sava Refuse all Accept all