The building was commissioned by a member of the Danish royal family, probably Queen Margaret Fredkulla.

In the chancel, the barrel vault ceiling is decorated with figures carrying speech scrolls of the Christian hymn Te Deum, a subject matter not found elsewhere among medieval murals in Sweden.

After having been pillaged by Swedish troops, the Danish King Christian IV decided to move the settlement to a more easily defended location.

In 1614 Vä was degraded to the status of village, while most of the population moved to the newly founded city Kristianstad, approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) away.

[6] The church thus clearly belonged to the Danish royal family prior to the donation,[7] but it is not known who commissioned the building and its age has been the matter of discussion.

When it was renovated in the 1960s, a scrap of parchment was discovered in a lead box concealed in the medieval altar, bearing a date which has been interpreted as 1131.

[18] A fire ravaged the building in 1213, and after this the monks moved away to found a new monastery on the site of present-day Bäckaskog Castle.

[19] During the 13th century, the vaults were constructed, replacing the wooden ceiling of the nave, and the walls were made slightly higher and the gables steeper.

[20] A third tower, the only one still preserved, was built at the end of the Middle Ages to house the church bells.

[24][25] The monumental aspect, high quality of the craftsmanship of the builders, and several stylistic features connect Vä Church with the cathedral in Lund.

In contrast, the original parts of the building are constructed of finely cut ashlars made of greyish sandstone.

The building seen today consists of a nave which incorporates the base of the former western towers, a chancel and an apse.

The only remaining, late medieval tower is joined with the nave approximately halfway along its south facade.

The apse is divided by four narrow columns, double corbel tables and a more marked cornice supporting the roof.

[31] Four original sculpted stones, depicting beasts and religious symbols, are also incorporated in the eastern part of the facade.

[28] In 1945, it was discovered that the weather vane on the roof was an aquamanile in the form of a knight on horseback, dating from the Romanesque era, i.e. the construction period of the church.

[34] The west end of the church, the area surrounding the main entrance, originally also served as a base for the two towers which were demolished in the early 19th century.

[37] Their style is Italo-Byzantine, in the same tradition as e.g. the murals in the Chapelle des moines de Berzé-la-Ville [fr] (France), St. Gabriel's Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral (England) or the Znojmo Rotunda (Czech Republic).

[38] These stylistic traits may have arrived from Eastern Europe, perhaps conveyed through the many personal contacts between the Danish royal family and the nobility of Kievan Rus'.

He is dressed in an alb with blue details, decorated with clavi, golden bands originally denoting the majesty of the Roman emperor, but here signifying the Lord of Heaven.

[41][42] Beneath the semi-dome there are badly damaged murals depicting, on the north wall, what is probably an archangel and Saint Mary.

A total of 24 round medallions contain images of angels, apostles and saints carrying speech scrolls with the text of the Christian hymn Te Deum.

The medallions are framed by concentric circles similar to the mandorla surrounding Christ in the apse, and the figures painted inside them have alternating rich or simple clothing.

[46] On the wall of the chancel facing the apse there are the two donor portraits mentioned above, representing a king and a queen.

[49] The baptismal font of the church is a copy of the original, which was moved to the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm in 1867.