The first church in Mariefred was built around 1100 but was abandoned when the new church was completed in 1624. There is a runestone embedded in the wall.
Just to the left when you enter Mariefred stands the well-preserved ruin of Kärnbo Church. <�2Fem>
When constructed at the end of the 12th century, the church consisted of a rectangular nave with a narrower choir and apse. Around the year 1500, the nave was extended westward and a porch was added. Presumably, the triumphal arch between the choir and nave was also widened at the same time.
A Fire Revived Kärnbo Church
When Mariefred’s town church was erected in 1624, Kärnbo Church was abandoned. It was reused due to a fire in the town church in 1682 and served again as a church for services for a few years before it was left to fall into ruin. The ruin was preserved in the 1920s to secure the remains of the beautiful ruin.
A runestone from the 11th century is embedded in the porch wall. Its fragmented inscription tells that Ragna had the stone raised for Gudbjörn’s son.