Hedared Stave Church

Stave construction - a timber frame with upright staves set in a sill rather than laid horizontally - was widespread in medieval Scandinavia and survives in numbers only in Norway. Sweden has one, at Hedared, dated by tree rings to around 1500, which makes it late; it probably replaced an earlier stave church on the same ground. It is very small, dark, tarred black outside, with a painted interior from the 1690s and furnishings of about the same date. There is nothing else here: a churchyard, a few houses, fields. The church is kept locked outside opening hours and services, and the key arrangement is posted at the gate.

What you actually see

• The only Swedish stave church - dated to about 1500.
• Black tarred timber - very small, dark inside.
• A painted 1690s interior - with furnishings of the period.
• A hamlet setting - churchyard, houses, fields.

When to go

May to September, when it is open. Half an hour.

Honest expectations

It is locked much of the time and the visit is short. The interior is dim and cramped. There are no facilities. It is a detour rather than a destination.

Nearby

Boras is south; Alingsas is north.