Ventilation through open doors is a simple way to temporarily enhance ventilation of indoor spaces, with the purpose to evacuate indoor air pollutants or to adjust the indoor temperature. In churches and other historical buildings, which otherwise are ventilated only through air infiltration, temporarily enhanced ventilation through open doors or windows may be a prudent deed after e.g. services involving large congregations and burning of candles or incense. In the present study, the air exchange occurring at single-sided ventilation through the external doors of five historical churches is measured by tracer gas decay method. Further, air velocity measurements and smoke visualization in a doorway are performed. Measurement results are compared with predictions attained from four previously developed models for single-sided ventilation. Models that include terms for wind turbulence yielded somewhat better predictions. According to the performed measurements, the magnitude of one hour single-sided open-door airing in a church is typically around 50% air exchange, indicating that this is a workable ventilation method, also for such large building volumes. A practical diagram to facilitate estimation of a suitable airing period is also presented. The study adds particularly knowledge to the issue of airing through doors, in large single zones. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.