St. Olof's Church Ruins

Sigtuna, Sweden

St. Olof's Church was originally built around the year 1100 and it consisted of a main tower, chancel and nave. It was later extended, but the construction was probably interrupted when archbishop’s seat was moved to Gamla Uppsala in the 12th century.

St. Olof's church has been influenced by the Nidaros Cathedral in Norway, while the small tapering windows have an Anglo-Saxon style. The church is dedicated to the Norwegian viking Olaf Tryggvasson, king between 995-1000.

It is not certain by whom the church was built. Most probably it was authored by the Benedictines or local trade guild. Archaelogical excavations have revealed remains under the church, which are thought to have belonged to an even older stone church. It may have been one of the first built in Sweden.

References:

Address

Olofsgatan 9, Sigtuna, Sweden

See all sites in Sigtuna

Details

Founded: ca.1100
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

More Information

wadbring.com

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

St. Mary's Church (0,1 km)
Sigtuna Museum (0,4 km)

Storkyrkan (38 km)
Finnish Church (38,1 km)
Axel Oxenstierna Palace (38 km)
Gamla Stan (38,1 km)
Tessin Palace (38,1 km)
Royal Palace (38 km)
German Church (38,2 km)
The Royal Coin Cabinet (38,1 km)
Vasa Museum (38,5 km)

User Reviews

Lisbeth Stewart (8 months ago)
If the 3 church ruins in Sigtuna (& one site of former ruin) this is the most impressive. There is a translation plaque for a runestone at the fence beside the road, but I couldn’t find the actual stone with runes.

John Magno (8 months ago)
Pretty cool that it's still standing 900 years later! We love Ruins and architectural design! And, architectural wonders that have stood the test of time!

Ryker Barrowcliffe (11 months ago)
This was an amazing and iconic old church. Really lovely to see how things where built and how they still stand to this day.

Scott Wright (12 months ago)
If you like looking at ruins. This one's quite interesting. You get to walk inside and look around. The rocks are a little different that this one was built with. Just as old as any of the others around the country. But around this church is also some standing stones. There's another little church remains kind of kitty corner

Shri Gupta (2 years ago)
Looks fantastic despite being ruins

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Andy Hay

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.