Wedding Ceremony

Say yes on top of the mountain, at Lappkåtan, by Stensjön, at Gammelgården, in Sälens Mountain Church or why not out in the middle of the mountain!

In Sälen your fantasies can run wild and are only limited by your imagination. You can choose to have a civil ceremony or a religious ceremony, in a church or not. Priests are willing to carry out wedding ceremonies wherever you want them.

Contact the church Sälens Fjällkyrka
Contact for Civil ceremony services

Sälens Fjällkyrka History
The idea to build a mountain church up at Högfjällshotellet was the vision of the local men and women tourism industry workers and stems back as early as the 1950s. Simple, sturdy and inexpensive. In 1961 the Sälens Fjällkyrka association was developed and helped to fund and build the church. In 1967, architect and priest Lars Ridderstedt was commissioned to design the simplest, cheapest and most sustainable church possible. A challenge with the ever changing and harsh mountain weather conditions. His design has been tested and has held over time. The roof trusses are designed to stand unwavering against mountain storms with 30 meters per second winds. The towering ceiling presses down onto the walls structure with a total weight of 12 tonnes! The church has a knuttimrad (knotched) constructed log cabin structure for several reasons, but above all it is the region's traditional buliding style.

Inauguration
A sunny June day in 1968 Bishop Sven Silén turned the first sod and then passed the construction process over to brothers Olle and Sven Pell to complete construction on the church. On the 2nd of November that same year, a taklagsgudstjänst (a topping out celebratory mass) was held inside the church amidst a snow storm. The cold and snow whirled in and chilled the cheeks of the guests. On a stormy 30th of March 1969 the then bishop and a lucky 400 guests inaugurated Sälen fjällkyrkan.

Harmonic design
A rectangular building the church measures 16 x 10 meters. Timber logs are laid horizontally on top of each other to form the building shell and structure. Sandstone forms the foundations. The hurch has a hip roof 12 meters high. The ceiling is both 5 metres high and wide. By halving or doubling the dimensions of the room one has gained a harmony that every visitor immediately feels. The church has a small porch to the southwest, which is equipped with a canopy, supported by gnarled logs.

Building Extensions
In 1979 a sacristy extension was built with a toilet and cloakroom cupboard. In 1992 the second church extension was completed and consisted of connecting a new well-equipped kitchen, sanitary facilities, offices and a meeting room with fireplace to the existing church structure. Lima Timmerhus completed the works.

Details
The churches decorative door lock was original part of Trandstrand's old wooden chapel and was commissioned and smithed in the 1600s. The floor and altar stone are both Älvdalstone, a sandstone from Mångsbodarna. The altar is 2 meters and weighs 1 ton. The naturally shaped pattern shows a Sanstrand as though dry cracked apart millions of years ago. The Crucifix hanging above the altar is made from iron and is pierced to remind you of what is "behind" the cross, namely, resurrection. The pulpit is an inverted spruce tree stump from Fulunäs. The baptismal font is also a willow stump with growths that give it its characteristic shape and appearance. The open and tarred bell tower with gable roof stands west of the church. The clock has the following inscription, written by Sven Berggren.

Let me call upon you
Worship you God
Up in the mountains, in forests, in the home
in church

For more information please contact us at +46(0)280-877 00 or by email >>