Katarina kyrka
Encyclopedia
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The original building was constructed 1656–1695. It has been rebuilt twice after being destroyed by fires, the second time during the 1990s. The Katarina-Sofia borough
Katarina-Sofia borough
Katarina-Sofia was a so called borough in central Stockholm, named after the two parishes of Katarina and Sofia. Effective January 1, 2007, the borough merged with the borough of Maria-Gamla Stan to form the Södermalm borough....
is named after the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
and the neighbouring parish of Sofia
Sofia kyrka
Sofia kyrka is one of the major churches in Stockholm, Sweden. It was designed during an architectural contest in 1899, and was inaugurated in 1906. Sofia church belongs to Sofia parish of the Church of Sweden.-See also:* Katarina kyrka* Maria Magdalena Church...
.
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
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...
and half-sister of Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
. The original architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
was Jean de la Vallée
Jean De la Vallée
Jean de la Vallée was a French-born architect, who lived and worked in Sweden. He was the son of Simon de la Vallée, who was killed by a Swedish nobleman in 1642. The father had started the planning of the House of Knights in Stockholm, and in 1660 his son finished his father's work...
. 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
J. L. van den Heuvel Orgelbouw
J. L. van den Heuvel Orgelbouw is a firm of pipe organ builders, based in Dordrecht, Holland. The company specialises in the construction of instruments in the French Symphonic tradition.-History of the firm:...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Several famous Swedes are buried in the cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
surrounding the church, most notably the assassinated Foreign Minister Anna Lindh
Anna Lindh
Ylva Anna Maria Lindh was a Swedish Social Democratic politician, Chairman of the Social Democratic Youth League 1984-1990, Member of Parliament 1982-1985 and 1998-2003...
. Nationally popular Dutch-Swedish singer Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk , was a singer-songwriter, poet and actor born in IJmuiden in the Netherlands.He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to become a journalist, but became increasingly involved in music, performing at...
is another example.
Sten Sture the Elder
Sten Sture the Elder was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from .-Background:...
.