Homes

House of the Week: Slätte Chapel

It’s hard not to fall in love with a little red chapel in the woods. And when said woods look pristine and slightly slow-covered and I am currently sitting in a pool of armpit sweat in the muggy 90 degree weather New England soooooo loves to produce? Let’s just say I find the following images more than enticing. The Swedish word “kyrketorp” translates to “church cottage”, but can refer to chapels as well as the small parishes surrounding them.

Our House of the Week, the Slätte kyrketorp is in Töreboda, a municipality in Västra Götaland County on the southwestern coast of Sweden. The town retains quite a bit of historical character, including an old gallows hill. Even though the last execution that took place here was in 1862, when a married couple were beheaded for poisoning the husband’s parents, it wasn’t until the 1950’s when a telephone company tried to move into the region that over 18 bodies were discovered in the unconsecrated ground along the road. The bodies have since been reinterred in consecrated ground, giving the town a small feeling of freedom to celebrate their own morbid history, but doing so with more tact than other places *cough Salem Massachusetts cough cough*

The Christian chapel is protected by the Swedish Heritage Act, which protects ecclesiastical monuments, so renovations were a little tricky. Originally built in 1931, this revamped Swedish chapel recently sold for 1.5 million Swedish kronor, which is about $190,000 here in the states. On about 1 acre of land, this chapel only has two rooms, but what great rooms they are. This fairy-tale exterior, modern interior abode fully deserves The Taste Maven’s Stamp of Approval. Enjoy!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Leave a Reply