Riddarholmen Church, Stockholm, Sweden

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 Magnus III (d. 1290) and Charles VIII (d. 1470).

Riddarholmen church is one of the oldest buildings in Stockholm, parts of it dating to the late 13th century, when it was built as a greyfriars monastery. After the Protestant Reformation, the monastery was closed and the building transformed into a Protestant church. A spire designed by Willem Boy was added during the reign of John III, but it was destroyed by a strike of lightning on July 28, 1835 after which it was replaced with the present cast iron spire.

Coats of arms of knights of the Order of the Seraphim are in the walls of the church. When a knight of the Order dies, his coat of arms is hung in the church and when the funeral takes place the church bells are rung constantly from 12:00 to 13:00.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Benno Changor (2 years ago)
The church is actually the burial chapel with most of the royal family personal graves. Some are buried in the main chapel floor and being very old most of the inscriptions are not readable. There are many side chapels where family wise casket, most metallic and with gold and silver embossing are placed. Although some are cast in stones too. A place of historical importance and must visit place for tourists interested in the royal hierarchy of Sweden.

Nick J. (2 years ago)
Historical value, very impressive, the ticket lady knew greek and she was very polite! Definitely worth a visit

Bahaa AlHaffar (2 years ago)
Beautiful design and colours specially at sunset time

Allen Lin (2 years ago)
Church very similar to other churches in Europe. In my opinion it was nothing special. It is a short walk away from gamla Stan and student tickets are cheaper and it was nice that they did not look for student id. Apparently the reciept of the ticket here gets you a discount at the other museum at the royal palace.

Natalie (2 years ago)
One of the oldest buildings in Stockholm/Old Town. Previously a convent turned church and now it is the final resting place of generations of Royals. Interesting to visit. Scarce opening-hours so check in advance if it is open for visitors. Not free of admissions but worth the price (60 kr/adult and 30kr/child).

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright itmpa

Historic Site of the week

Dryburgh Abbey

Dryburgh Abbey on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders was founded in 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland. The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place in 1152.

It was burned by English troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly surviving until the Scottish Reformation, when it was given to the Earl of Mar by James VI of Scotland. It is now a designated scheduled monument and the surrounding landscape is included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan bought the land in 1786. Sir Walter Scott and Douglas Haig are buried in its grounds.

Riddarholmen Church

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Dryburgh Abbey