Tidersrum Church, Medieval wooden church in Kinda Municipality, Sweden.
Tidersrum Church is a red-painted timber church with walls of massive logs joined without splices, covered in patterned wood shingles. It has a rectangular nave, a narrower and lower chancel with a straight east end, a two-storey porch to the west and a white-plastered stone sacristy to the north. The south porch door is medieval, of broad pine planks with richly wrought ironwork.
The church was built around 1260 and ranks among Sweden's oldest surviving wooden churches, decorated with late medieval paintings in the High Gothic style. Its construction reflects the religious building traditions that took shape across northern Europe during that period.
A parchment inscription found in 1700 in one of the church's joints records that the church was built in honour of Saint Olaf, and a medieval sculpture of him is kept inside. A medieval papal incense vessel of brass is also preserved here. The church was reportedly used as a stable during the Dacke War.
The church remains an active place of worship situated in a rural location with an adjacent cemetery on the grounds. Visitors should keep in mind that services and events are held regularly, so accessing the interior may require checking ahead.
A parchment note found in 1700 in one of the church's joints records that "Svan" had the church built in honour of Saint Olof and gave the southern forest to the priest's residence. When the old stone altar was demolished in 1816, a metal urn was found beneath its slab holding pearls, silk scraps, burnt bone and a piece of gold braid — the church's relics.
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