Katarina Church, Stockholm, Sweden

Katarina kyrka (Church of Catherine) was originally constructed in 1656–1695. It has been rebuilt twice after being destroyed by fires, the second time during the 1990s. The Katarina-Sofia borough is named after theparish and the neighbouring parish of Sofia.

Construction of the church started during the reign of Charles X of Sweden, and the church is named after Princess Catherine, mother of the king, wife of John Casimir, Palsgrave of Pfalz-Zweibrücken and half-sister of Gustavus Adolphus. The original architect was Jean de la Vallée. The construction was severely delayed due to shortage of funds.

In 1723 the church, together with half of the buildings in the parish, was completely destroyed in a major fire. Rebuilding started almost immediately, under supervision of Göran Josua Adelcrantz, the city architect, who designed a larger, octagonal tower.

May 17, 1990, the church burned down again. Almost nothing but the external walls remained. Architect Ove Hidemark was responsible for rebuilding the church, which was reopened in 1995. The new organ was built by J. L. van den Heuvel Orgelbouw in the Netherlands.

Several famous Swedes are buried in the cemetery surrounding the church, most notable the assassinated Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, nationally popular Dutch-Swedish singer Cornelis Vreeswijk and Sten Sture the Elder.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Manos Deligiannis (21 months ago)
Great community experience!

Ilpo L (2 years ago)
Beautiful churchyard. Impressive church, from outside. Quite modest, from inside. That is due to the fires that have destroyed the church twice. Interesting acoustics. The assassinated foreign minister Anna Lindh is buried in the churchyard cemetery.

Ana Thereza Vasconcellos (2 years ago)
Pretty church

Mia McCurdy (2 years ago)
Very beautiful church with surrounding cemetery. The color makes the Church stand out to me. Protestant: Church of Sweden. The cemetery is well taken after. Worth a visit while you walk around the city.

Sarah Jane Smith (3 years ago)
Beautiful church girt by an equally beautiful graveyard. It was very touching to see all the cared for headstones, many decorated with flowers and cards. I would like to return to spend more time reflecting and contemplating in the serene grounds.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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