Seglora Church

Seglora Church shows a church in the 1790s, at a time when there was no freedom of religion in Sweden and everyone had to belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. All children had to be baptised within eight days of birth, and everyone had to go to church and take Holy Communion. Failure to attend church could result in having to pay a fine.  

Church and state were intertwined in a state church, where the state controlled the church. The church, in turn, was responsible for population registration, education, healthcare and poor relief.  

Hours-long services and the church warden 

Every Sunday, before the service began, the congregation would gather on the church hill to chat with their friends and acquaintances. Inside the church, it was dark and cold. There was no heating, and in a cold winter it could be the same temperature inside as outside.  

Where people sat in the church showed their social status. The women sat on the left, and the men on the right. Those who owned land and had power sat at the front, while maids and farmhands sat or stood at the back or in the gallery. Brawls often broke out over seats in the church, because everyone wanted the best possible seat.  

The church warden ensured that everyone behaved 

The service lasted for several hours, and there were arguments and drunkenness among the congregation. The priest was assisted by a verger, who kept order in the church. The verger had a long rod that he would bang on the floor or use to poke people who had fallen asleep. He also made sure that hats and other headwear were not hung on the candle holders or the paintings.  

After the sermon and the prayers, the priest read out various announcements. These might be about the importance of vaccination, wanted criminals, the king being abroad, the benefit of growing potatoes or forthcoming auctions. In this way, the king and the county administrative board could pass on information to all the country’s inhabitants. Some decrees were read out several times so no one could claim that they hadn’t heard them.  

The dreaded shame stocks 

A person who was convicted of a crime was also excluded from the congregation. In order to become a member again, they first had to admit their guilt, before doing penance and promising to repent. Outside Seglora Church are shame stocks that could be used if someone had been convicted of theft. The offender had to sit with his feet – and sometimes his hands – in the stocks while the members of the congregation passed by. Public shaming would also act as a deterrent, as no one wanted to be shamed in this way. 

Ceiling paintings from 1735 

Seglora Church was built on the site of two older churches. The latter of these was demolished in 1729, and the church that you can see today at Skansen was built on the same site. Some of the old timber, as well as the pulpit and altarpiece, were reused in the church. 

The vestry and the bell tower were added in the 1780s. The original church bells are no longer hung in the tower. They have been replaced by two bells from Väring Church in Västergötland, the larger of which dates from the 14th century while the smaller one was cast in 1759. 

The church’s roof and walls are covered with oak shingles tarred in a shade of red. The shingles form a pattern of rhombic squares. 

The interior of Seglora Church is richly painted. The arched board ceiling features paintings from 1735 by the Gothenburg painter Sven Wernberg. Starting above the chancel, you can follow scenes from the life of Jesus, arranged clockwise around the ceiling. In the centre of the ceiling is the symbol of the all-seeing eye of God: a bright red triangle with the name Yahweh in Hebrew script.  

The churchyard is modelled on parts of the churchyard in Seglora. The wall is made of gneiss from the area. In the churchyard, there are three gravestones from Seglora and four crosses from Rackeby Church in Västergötland, but no actual graves. 

Dismantled and transported to Skansen 

During the 19th century, Seglora parish grew and the church became too small. After a new, larger church was consecrated in 1903, the old church stood empty. The congregation could not afford to maintain two churches, and decided in 1915 to demolish the older church. The idea was that the timber should be used to build church stables.  

During his lifetime (1833–1901), Skansen’s founder Artur Hazelius had planned to build a church at Skansen. However, this plan did not come to fruition. Instead, Skansen bought Seglora Church for SEK 1,000. Extensive work to move the church began in 1916. Seglora Church was taken down piece by piece. Each piece of wood was individually numbered and then transported, first by horse and cart and then by train, to Stockholm. In 1918, Seglora Church reopened in its new location at Skansen.