The church has had at least two predecessors. The earliest one was a medieval stone church whose ruins still remains c. 500 metres (1,600 ft) north of the church. At some point it was replaced with a wooden church, which was however in such a bad shape in the 17th century that it was replaced with the presently visible, octagonal church and demolished in the early 18th century.[1][2]
The church may have been designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder; it was built at the initiative of Baron Gustaf Rosenhane [sv], who is documented with having employed Tessin for other building projects. The main, octagonal church building was built 1672-1688 and inaugurated on 29 June 1688, while the church porch wasn't finished until 1704. Originally the sacristy was a wooden annex but it was replaced with a stone structure in 1766–68.[1][2]
References
^ abJacobsson, Britta; Johansson, Eva; Johansson, Per; Andersson, Rolf (1990). Våra kyrkor (in Swedish). Västervik: Klarkullens förlag AB. p. 57. ISBN91-971561-08.