Gunnarps kyrka

Gunnarp church is one of very few wooden churches in Halland, built in the 1750s, decorated with beautiful paintings and a unique baptismal font from the early Middle Ages.

About the church:

The very first church in Gunnarp probably existed as early as the 13th century, as the relief-decorated baptismal font is dated to that time. In the 1740s a new church was built in wood and with a tower, but lightning struck and it was destroyed by fire in the summer of 1753. The current church was built between 1755-1756.

The baptismal font of red sandstone is in one piece. It is cylindrical and slightly tapered downwards. It is divided into two rows of figure reliefs, the upper one is further divided by rope rod ornaments and the lower one by columns and double rope rod. The font is repaired and placed in the choir.

The interior is decorated with very beautiful paintings, executed by the master Henrik Andersson Wibeck from Varberg in 1782. The ceiling paintings were first painted over in 1881 and during the restoration in 1908, the ceiling was covered with pearl plaster and the walls and the parapet with burlap. During the period 1908-1945, however, the church room was painted in light blue color.

The latest restoration aimed to restore the church's 18th century appearance. Wibeck's ceiling paintings were brought out and the painting of the lantern parapet was reconstructed on the basis of some recovered fragments and the drapery paintings on the walls. The foundation was improved, the tower raised, the dome made more slender and a new copper sheet roof added. The porch was replaced with a stone staircase and door directly into the church. New pews were installed, and a cross, added during the 19th-century restoration, was moved to the south long wall. A new altar cabinet was made in 1949, the year of the consecration.