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 - the timber was most likely felled in 1501, and a bishop's letter of 1506 mentions its building. It is very small, dark, tarred black outside, with interior paintings made in 1735 by Johan Ehrenfrid and eighteenth-century furnishings. 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.

The main sights

• The only Swedish stave church - dated to about 1500.
• Black tarred timber - very small, dark inside.
• Paintings of 1735 - with eighteenth-century furnishings.
• A hamlet setting - churchyard, houses, fields.

When to go

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

Practical notes

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.

Key facts