Västerås-Barkarö kyrka

About the church

Västerås-Barkarö kyrka is a church building that belongs to Västerås-Barkarö parish in the Diocese of Västerås. The church lies in Barkarö, almost ten kilometres south-west of central Västerås.

The church was consecrated around the year 1200 but has since been altered several times. Among other things this followed a devastating fire in 1771 which, besides parts of the church, also burned down almost the whole church village. The interior of the church largely dates from the 20th century, but older traces are to be found in, among other things, the medieval vaults and the pulpit from the 17th century.

During the fire the church's three bells melted, one of which, according to its inscription, dated from the year 1091, which would make it Sweden's oldest dated church bell. The claim has, however, been questioned.

From the western entrance of the churchyard an avenue of lime trees leads to a former rectory which is now the parish hall.

The text has been translated from the article Västerås-Barkarö kyrka on Swedish Wikipedia and may be used under CC BY-SA 4.0.