Habo Church

Habo church was rebuilt in timber in the 1720s as a wide hall with a free-standing bell tower, and in 1741 and 1742 two painters, Johan Kinnerus and Johan Christian Peterson, covered the inside of it - walls, ceiling, galleries, pews - with painted scenes illustrating Luther's catechism, framed in painted architecture and marbling. Nothing was left plain. The style is provincial and vigorous rather than refined, which is why it is usually described as peasant baroque, and the whole scheme has survived without being overpainted or stripped. The exterior is red boarding and shingles and gives no hint of what is inside.

What you actually see

• Every interior surface painted - walls, ceiling, galleries, pews.
• Luther's catechism illustrated - the programme of the scheme.
• Work of 1741 and 1742 - by Kinnerus and Peterson.
• A plain red boarded exterior - and a free-standing bell tower.

When to go

May to September for reliable opening. An hour.

Honest expectations

Winter opening is limited and it may be locked outside services. The interior is dim and hard to photograph. It is a single room - the visit is short. Habo village has few services.

Nearby

Jonkoping is south; Lake Vattern is east.