Gamla Kyrkan

Gamla Kyrkan (The Old Church).

The old church from 1669 is the oldest building in Åmål. In the past, there had been a medieval church on the site. A preserved baptismal font has been dated to the 14th century and allows us to know that there used to be a medieval church there at that time. The baptismal font can still be found today in Åmåls new church.

The old church lost its tower during a storm in 1754 and it was never rebuilt. When the new church was completed in 1806, the old church was sold to a private buyer. Following the sale, the church became a storage space. A few years later it became possible to keep livestock in the medieval cemetery. They also removed gravestones from the cemetery to be used as steps when they built the new houses in the vicinity. One example is the gravestone that is now placed in front of the stage in the Old Church. It was found in the house of Brantenberg where it was used as a step in one of the staircases.

The old church was renovated in 1968. It was reopened on October 19th, 1969 as a summer church and concert hall. To clarify the building's current function as an event hall, the old church got a new name in 2010: Kulturmagasinet (The warehouse of Culture). The name “Gamla Kyrkan” (The Old Church) was readopted in 2018.