Värmdö church is Stockholm’s archipelago’s oldest and only medieval church. For an ancient medieval church, it is unusually large, showing that it was built to serve a large congregation. The church was probably built in the 13th century with additions of vestry, porch and grave chapel in the 1400s.
The grave chapel has served as a memorial for many important families including Fleming, Bagge, Snakenborg among others and the church is richly adorned with the memorials of the important families of the region. The church also preserves a large number of medieval wooden sculptures.

HISTORY

The present-day church must have had a predecessor. It is not clear when construction of the current church began. A church in Värmdö is mentioned for the first time in 1314 in a taxation period established by the Dome Chapter in Uppsala. In 1319, the Archbishop came to the church and in 1323 something must have been held in the church. According to previous research, a bullybulge from 1390, promised to feed everybody who contributed to the Church’s maintenance. This sets a boundary for the construction year. However, later data may indicate that a stone church was found here already in the beginning of the twentieth century.
The owners of Norrnäs, which was Värmdö’s only säte of the Middle Ages, were involved in the church. According to Jens Fleming, who owned Norrnäs at the end of the 1300s, he died 1395 and was buried in Värmdö church, which he had built. The owners of Norrnäs had, in the Middle Ages, patronage rights, that is, the right to appoint priests in the congregation.

When the present stone church was built, it was designed as a church with raised walls, covered by a high decked and tiled roof. In the 1430s, the vestry and the porch were built until and during the 1480s, there were grave chapels on both the north and south sides. These were placed under the same roof as the vestry and the crest of the house, which gave the church got its current cross form. The grave chapel served as graves for the important families of the region; Fleming, Bagge and Snakenborg et al.
From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, Värmdö church was the whole of Värmdö Socks and Shipyard’s church, comprising 16 fjords and was a gathering place for the entire archipelago. In the past, the bay went up to the church where the boats from the islands could moor. Areas included in the parish were Boo, Gustavsberg, Ingarö, Orminge, Ljusterö and Möja.

Welcome to Värmdö Church!