Tisselskog Church ( sv, Tisselskogs kyrka) belongs to the Steneby-Tisselskogs parish in the Diocese of Karlstad, Sweden. The church is located on a hill about north of Lake Råvarpen, a part of the Dalsland Canal. Approximately south of the church is a former clergy house, built in 1935. In the south part of the grave yard is a mourge built in the 1940s and a storage house built in 1995.

History

The church building is assumed to be the third in Tisselskog and like the former two, it is made out of wood. The first church was erected during the Middle Ages and was located about south of the present building. The second church was built in 1724–1727 on the same location as the present. The church tower and parts of the west wall in the present building are remnants of the second church.

Architecture

The current wooden church in simple Neo-Gothic style was built in 1877, designed by engineer Emil Olsson. The building is a rectangular nave with an uninterrupted wall in the east and the church tower as a part of the west wall. An extension of the building on the northeast side used to be a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

. The main entrance is on the west side through the church porch on the ground floor of the tower. Traces of the previous church can be seen in the porch as well as at the west wall inside the church. In the ceiling there are boards with paintings from the old church. The exterior walls covered with white-painted wood paneling and the pointed windows are angular, as are the shutters in the tower. The nave has a dual- pitched roof that is hipped in the east. The roofs of the nave and the former sacristy are made of

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

, and tower has a copper-clad spire. The interior walls and the ceiling are clad with paneling, some of it from the 1910s.

Renovations

During a renovation of the church during 1915–16, the interior walls and ceiling were covered in panelling. The layout of the altar was changed by replacing the

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

with the original one from 1725. A stained glass choir window was installed as well as the old medieval

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

. During the 1960s and 70s plans for demolishing the barely century-old nave were being discussed. The church had been neglected for long and the value of the building was questioned, because of the disproportionately long nave and the short tower. Instead of tearing it down, a comprehensive renovation was made in 1977, under the supervision of architects Uno Asplund and Janne Feldt from

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabitants ...

. The proportions of the nave were altered by making a hipped roof in the east section. The disposition of the building was also altered. The nave was shortened by building a new wall behind the altar. The room behind the altar became the new sacristy, while the old one in the extension was converted into facilities for the church staff. The area under the organ loft was sealed off with folding screens made of wood. The panelling on the west wall was removed to uncover the older timber walls with paintings.

Furnishings

The inventories in the church are: *The oldest object in the church is the soapstone baptismal font from the 13th century. The font is placed in the south part of the choir on a decorated wooden base. *The

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

has ten

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

and is built in 1977, by Magnussons Organ Constructors in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. The organ is placed on the south side of the loft in order to accommodate a choir as well. *The altarpiece was made by Lars Hasselbom from Lidköping in 1735, in

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style and it consists of two paintings. The lower painting depicts the Last Supper and the one above it, the Ascension of Jesus. Both paintings were renovated in 1977. *The altar is made of light green, stained wood and was probably added in 1977. *Two

hymn board A hymn board is a board in a church building that lists the hymns that will be sung during the service. Normally, the hymns are indicated by the number under which the hymn appears in the church's hymnal. The display of hymn numbers in this way can ...

s are mounted on the wall on opposite sides of the altar. They are probably from the 19th century. *The blue and pink

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

is probably contemporary with the present building (1877). It was lowered and repainted in 1977, and a baldachin was added to it.

References

External links