Katarina Church

Katarina stands on the ridge of Sodermalm and its dome is one of the fixed points of the Stockholm skyline from the north. Jean de la Vallee designed the original on a Greek cross plan, finished in 1695; it burned in 1723 and was rebuilt, then burned again in May 1990, leaving only the walls. The reconstruction that followed was deliberately traditional - lime mortar, hand-made brick, timber roof trusses cut with old methods - and it reopened in 1995, which makes the interior almost entirely modern work done in seventeenth-century technique. The churchyard around it holds a number of well-known Swedish graves and is used as a park.

History

Building began under King Charles X Gustav, and the church is named after his mother, Princess Catherine, half-sister of Gustavus Adolphus; it went up between 1656 and 1695. After the great fire of 1723 it was rebuilt with a larger, octagonal tower, and after the fire of 17 May 1990, which left little but the outer walls, it reopened in 1995 with a new organ by the Dutch builder J. L. van den Heuvel (Wikipedia, Katarina Church).

Background

Work on the church began in 1656, during the reign of Charles X Gustav, and it is named after Princess Catherine, the king's mother. She was married to John Casimir, Palsgrave of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, and was a half-sister of Gustavus Adolphus. After the fire of 1723 the rebuilt church was given a larger, octagonal tower. The second fire broke out on 17 May 1990, and when the church reopened in 1995 it had a new organ from J. L. van den Heuvel Orgelbouw. Those buried in the surrounding cemetery include the Dutch-Swedish singer Cornelis Vreeswijk, the football player Sven Bergqvist, the rapper Einár and Sten Sture the Elder.

Source: Wikipedia, "Katarina Church"

What you'll find

• A dome on the Sodermalm ridge - a landmark from the north side.
• A Greek cross plan of 1695 - by Jean de la Vallee.
• An interior rebuilt after the 1990 fire - old methods, new fabric.
• A churchyard used as a park - with well-known graves.

When to go

Year round. Half an hour, more for the churchyard.

Good to know

The interior is plain and largely new. Opening hours are short outside services. The climb up from Slussen is steep. There is no viewing platform in the tower.

Nearby

Slussen and Sodermalarstrand are below; Mosebacke is a short walk.

Key facts