Religious sites in Sweden
Storkyrkan
Storkyrkan (Great Church, Stockholm Cathedral), officially Church of St. Nicholas, is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm. It was first mentioned in 1279 and according to tradition was originally built by Birger Jarl, the founder of the city itself. For nearly four hundred years it was the only parish church in the city, the other churches of comparible antiquity originally built to serve th ...
Founded: 1279 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Finnish Church
Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809, and the national parish of the Finnish Church was established in Stockholm in 1533, at the time accommodated in the old abbey of the Blackfriars. A building constructed on the present site 1648-1653, originally intended for ball games, and thus called Lilla bollhuset ('Small Ball House'), but mostly used as a theatre, was taken over by the Finnish parish in 1725 from when ...
Founded: 1648-1653 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
German Church
The German Church, or the Church of Saint Gertrude, was founded in 1571. it started as a Guild Lounge for german merchantmen in Stockholm who where a large part of the population in the 16th century. Hans Jakob Kristler enlarged the chapel in 1638-1642 to the present two-nave church. During the 17th century, while the choir of the school participated at the royal concerts, the church became an important centre for church ...
Founded: 1571 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Saint James's Church
The origin of the Saint James's Church dates back to a chapel belonging to the Solna parish and at the time built on the outskirts of the parish. It is first mentioned in 1311. The present church, originally founded in the 16th century, took a long time to complete. As a consequence it includes a wide range of architectonic styles, such as Late Gothic,Renaissance and Baroque, the design of architects: Willem Boy (1580-159 ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Riddarholmen Church
The Riddarholmen Church (Riddarholmskyrkan) is the burial church of the Swedish monarchs. The congregation was dissolved in 1807 and today the church is used only for burial and commemorative purposes. Swedish monarchs from Gustavus Adolphus (d. 1632 AD) to Gustaf V (d. 1950) are entombed here (with exceptions such as Queen Christina who is buried within St. Peter's Basilica in Rome), as well as the earlier monarchs Magnu ...
Founded: ca. 1270-1300 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Klara Church
The convent and church of St. Clare was founded on the site in 1280s. It was to be one of the very first convents to be dissolved during the Swedish Reformation. Gustav Vasa had the church and convent torn down in 1527. The new Lutheran church, built under the order of King John III in 1572, is a cruciform shaped. It has the second highest tower in Scandinavia, over one hundred metres high. The interior contains a fine a ...
Founded: 1572 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Christina Church
The Christina church (or German Church) was consecrated in 1648 and named after Queen Christina. The octagonal chapel for Rutger von Aschenberg was built in 1681, possibly by Erik Dahlberg. The tower, designed by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz 1780, rises powerfully over the lower urban buildings around it. It became an important symbol of the great German Assembly which included the Dutch who over a period in the 1600s represen ...
Founded: 1648 |
Location:
Gothenburg, Sweden
Skeppsholmskyrkan
Skeppsholmskyrkan is a church on the islet of Skeppsholmen, secularized in 2002. Named after its location, the church was built 1823-1849 to replace a minor wooden church on Blasieholmen destroyed in the devastating fire of 1822. Inaugurated by King Charles XIV John and still officially carrying his name, it was designed by the architect Fredrik Blom as a neoclassical octahedral temple inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, bo ...
Founded: 1823-1849 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Saint Eric's Cathedral
Saint Eric's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located on Södermalm. It was built in 1892 and was raised to the status of a cathedral in 1953, when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockholm was created (still the only one in Sweden). The substantial increase in the number of Catholics in Stockholm and Sweden, mostly as a result of immigration after World War II, made the old church insufficient, and an extension, ...
Founded: 1892 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Lund Cathedral
Lund Cathedral was consecrated in 1145, and contains many well-known artefacts and features of considerable historical interest. Since then service has been held here every day for almost 900 years. Today over 700 000 persons visit the church each year with some 85 000 who attends a service. The first cathedral was built in Lund before 1085, but it is difficult to know if the present building was built in the same place. ...
Founded: 1080-1145 |
Location:
Lund, Sweden
Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral is the largest and tallest cathedral and one of the most impressive religious buildings in Scandinavia. Originally built in the 13th century under Roman Catholicism and used for coronations of the Swedish monarch, since the Protestant Reformation, it has been controlled by the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Uppsala, the primate of Sweden. The construction of the cathedral ...
Founded: 1287-1435 |
Location:
Uppsala, Sweden
Maria Magdalena Church
The history of Maria Magdalena Church dates back to the 1350s when King Magnus Eriksson with the permission of Pope Clement VI had a funeral chapel built on the location and dedicated it to Mary Magdalene. When Gustav Vasa liberated Stockholm in the early 1520s, his troops led by Peder Fredag encamped in the chapel and suffered severe losses when the troops of Christian II of Denmark attacked from the city. This might hav ...
Founded: 1588-1634 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Vasa Church
Opened in 1909, Vasa Church is a monumental building in the new romantic style with decorative detail in the Jugendstil. The church is built of granite from the nearby Bohus county and was designed by Yngve Rasmussen. The interior is dominated by a huge mural painting in the chancel portraying the ascension of Christ. It was painted by Albert Eldh in the 1920s. The other end of the church is dominated by the original o ...
Founded: 1909 |
Location:
Gothenburg, Sweden
St. Mary's Church
Maria (St. Mary's) Church is one of the oldest buildings in Helsingborg. The construction of the church started in the beginning of the 14th century and finished some hundred years later. The place, where the Maria church is standing today, has though been holy ever since people inhabited the area. In the end of the 12th century a little stone church was build in a Romance style, in the place were Maria church stands toda ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Helsingborg, Sweden
Adolf Fredriks kyrka
Adolf Fredriks kyrka ("The Church of Adolf Frederick") was built in 1768-1774, replacing a wooden chapel from 1674, which was dedicated to Saint Olof. René Descartes was first buried to the cemetery in 1650 (before his remains were moved to France). Inside the church is a memorial to the memory of Descartes installed by Gustav III. Other famous people buried in the church cemetery include Swedish Prime Minister Olo ...
Founded: 1768-1774 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
St. Paul's Church
St. Paul's Church, also known as St. Paul's Chapel, is an 1876 Methodist church located in Mariatorget, a square and a city park in Södermalm, central Stockholm. The church was designed by the Swedish architects and brothers Axel and Hjalmar Kumlien.
Founded: 1876 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Gothenburg Cathedral
Gothenburg Cathedral (Gustavi domkyrka or Göteborgs domkyrka) lies near the heart of the city. The cathedral was built in 1815 and replaced an earlier cathedral built in the 17th century. The architect was Carl Willhelm Carlberg. The cathedral is a fine example of neoclassical architecture. It is one of the top tourist destinations in the city. The Cathedral acts as a venue for a wide range of classical concerts and reci ...
Founded: 1815 |
Location:
Gothenburg, Sweden
Holy Trinity Church
Helga Trefaldighet (Holy Trinity) Church was inaugurated in 1302. It replaced the previous church of local Ullerås parish. The church is made of grey stone and brick and it was originally a three-nave basilica. The western tower was added in the 15th century. The church was damaged badly by fire in 1702. The interior is particularly notable. It is decorated with paintings by the famous medieval artist Albertus Pict ...
Founded: 1302 |
Location:
Uppsala, Sweden
Hedvig Eleonora Church
Hedvig Eleonora Church was consecrated in 1737 and is named after the Swedish Queen Hedvig Eleonora (1636-1715), wife of King Charles X of Sweden. Hedvig Eleonora Church is an octagonal church. It is one of Stockholm's most popular for weddings, christenings and funerals.
Founded: 1737 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Visby Cathedral
Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants. There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble ...
Founded: 1225 |
Location:
Visby, Sweden