The carved stone of the Ytterby church ruin

In the northwestern corner of the Ytterby old church ruin sits a stone featuring two carved human heads. Dated to the early medieval period, the carving is said to represent Saint Halvard, the patron saint of seafaring, and the woman he attempted to rescue. The church was long known as Saint Halvard's Church because it was dedicated to him, a merchant in Drammen who suffered martyrdom and was considered one of the most effective saints in Norway.

The church served as the parish church for Ytterby until 1870, when a new church was built to accommodate the growing community. After the inauguration of the new church, the medieval church was allowed to decay after the inventory was sold or moved. Today, it remains a beautiful and well-maintained ruin. Along with the carved faces, a long, narrow stone can be seen on the south wall, which resembles a chest lid.

While many of the church's interior items were dispersed, some remain in the local church or at the Gothenburg City Museum. These include a baptismal font in oak with a six-sided bowl decorated with carved lion heads from the late 1600s and two wooden procession crosses, one from the early 1400s. The ruin is also a literary landmark; the choir of this church is where Gustaf Fröding placed King Sigurd Jorsalafarare in his poem of the same name, published in 1891.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons