Gunnilbo socken

Story

Gunnilbo socken is a former socken of Skinnskattebergs bergslag in Västmanland, Sweden. The socken is situated on a tributary of Hedströmmen, in the wooded countryside north of the Lillsvan and Långsvan lakes. Most buildings are near the sites of the old Bockhammar and Färna ironworks (järnbruk). Near the Gunnilbo Church is the Karlslunds school, built in 1879.HistoryThe first reference to Gunnilbo was in 1403 as Gunillabodhom, the prefix being the female name Gunhild and the suffix the plural of village. It represented the area where the church stands today.In 1612 Gustavus Adolphus gave permission for the construction of a wooden chapel in the village of Gunnilbo. At that time the village belonged to Odensvi parish, which was called Odensvi fjärding. The chapel was described as a hall "where the Word of God could be preached." There was no vicar stationed there in the early years, but housing for the priest was allotted to Tarmansbo.In 1638 Christina, Queen of Sweden declared Gunnilbo its own parish and it was broken off from Odensvi. The vicarage (prästgården) was moved from Tarmansbo to Österbo. 1649 Gunnilbo and Heds parish were declared bergslager and became part of Skinnskattebergs bergslag.Since the old church was considered too small, construction for a new parish church on the same site began in 1661. The chapel was either expanded or the new church was built on top of the demolished chapel. It was not finished until 1665. A decision was made in 1794 to build a new church would be built, but it was not completed until 1835.