Gamla Kyrkan - the Old church

The church was consecrated on New Year's Day 1846. The original plan was to build in stone, but it was too expensive. Instead, the timber frame was plastered over so the church would still look like a stone building.

Before it was finished, barns were used as temporary places of worship. But as the town grew, the need for a proper church became increasingly clear — especially since church attendance was compulsory in Sweden at the time.

In the 1830s, the issue was raised through a national church collection. Priests across the country read out the same message from their pulpits: up in the north, there was a community that truly needed a church.

Funds were gathered and work began. Around 500 people lived in the town at the time, and every property owner was required to contribute stone and timber. The church was built with crowbars, spades, and sheer manpower. Complicated roofwork and a frequently empty treasury caused delays — and in the end the construction took twelve years to complete.

The old church became the heart of town life — hosting baptisms, weddings, and communion. Its tower rose above the low wooden houses, a fixed point in the growing city. In the 1890s it received a new tower top and an updated interior, marking that Östersund was no longer a newcomer. But soon the town outgrew it.

A new church was consecrated in 1940, and the old one finally got its name — Gamla kyrkan, the Old Church. No longer the centre, but still a place of quiet and remembrance. Today it stands in Kyrkparken, surrounded by trees and everyday life.

The Old Church in Östersund, built between 1834 and 1845 and inaugurated in 1846, was the city's first church and was built in connection with Östersund becoming a separate parish in 1913 after previously being a parish belonging to the Brunflo pastorate.

The church, designed in a classicist style with whitewashed walls and towers, accommodated about 600 people and became a central feature of the city's social and religious life during the 19th century. The construction was led by church builder Pehr Nilsson and was partly financed by donations, including a contribution from King Karl XIV Johan. In the 1890s, the church was renovated and received a new tower cap. After the inauguration of the new Great Church in 1940, the Old Church lost its role as the main church, but is still in use and is today Östersund's oldest church building, located in the Church Park.

Photos provided by the Association of Gamla Östersund.
Associtation Gamla Östersund through the foundations managed by the association.