Stockholm, the "Venice of the North"

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Hey guys,

today as promised my post will be about Stockholm again, which is also called the "Venice of the North", and not for nothing: As you can already see from my pictures, there are countless bridges here. And this especially because there are many islands here. Strictly speaking, Stockholm extends over 14 islands. There are also many canals here.

In terms of area, Stockholm consists of one third water. This has its advantages in summer, but also in winter: In summer, you can swim here and, for example, fishing. In winter, these water areas freeze completely, then you can partly wonderful ice skating here (of course, only in safe places).

The Riddarholms church with its striking steeple

The Riddarholm Church

But not only in terms of leisure, Stockholm is always worth a trip: The capital of Sweden is also very rich in culture.

Especially popular among tourists is the royal funeral church Riddarholmskyrkan on the island Riddarholmen in the center of the city. And this church is what we are going to talk about today!

It is a medieval church. In its construction you can find features of romanticism as well as baroque.

In the pictures, even though I unfortunately only found pictures from the outside, you can recognize it directly, you do not have to look for long, because it or rather its tower is very striking. The striking brick tower has a cast iron spire. It is the landmark of the city. You can see the church tower from almost everywhere and it stands mainly for the old town. This so recognizable spire was actually built and thus "added" only after a great fire of 1835, today it is one of the landmarks of the city. Sometimes just such buildings, not planned from the beginning or liked by all, become famous works :)

A bit of history

The monastery church dates back to the Middle Ages. Interesting fact: the burial ground st also the only surviving medieval monastery in Sweden. The building is very much influenced by the Gothic style. At the end of the 13th century the then Swedish king, Magnus Ladulas, had a Franciscan monastery built. Riddarholms Church was intended to be a part of the monastery.

Then in the 17th century almost the entire monastery was demolished, because in the course of the Reformation all monasteries were dissolved. Only the church was left standing.

At the beginning of the 19th century the congregation of the church was dissolved. From then on the church was used only as a funeral and memorial church.

The interior of the church

From now on, the is the burial place of the Swedish kings. Now I would like to tell you something about the interior of this impressive church. Unfortunately, I have found no more pictures of the interior of the church on my smartphone (it's been a while since I was in Stockholm, even before Corona;)), but I hope you can then make a "picture" of my stories.

Inside, the tombstones and sarcophagi immediately catch the eye. These come from 17 Swedish kings and queens. Particularly striking because they appear very large and magnificent are the burial chapels for Charles X and Gustav II Adolf.

For a long time the Swedish monarchs were buried in this church. Before the influential position of Stockholm, the monarchs were still buried in the cathedral churches of Strängnäs and Uppsala.

In the course of time Stockholm and its center became more and more important in Sweden. Finally, with the death of Gustav II Adolf the first burial took place in the Riddarholmskirche in Stockholm.

Inside, the tombstones and sarcophagi immediately catch the eye. These come from 17 Swedish kings and queens. Particularly striking because they appear very large and magnificent are the burial chapels for Charles X and Gustav II Adolf.

Inside the church, coats of arms of knights of the Royal Order of Seraphim hang on the walls.

The coat of arms of a knight finds its place here when he dies. During the funeral the bells of the church are rung without a break from 12:00 to 13:00.

The Riddarholmskirche is open from May to September daily from 10 am - 5 pm, how it looks like during Corona I unfortunately do not know exactly, the internet says its closed ;). I hope you liked my post, even if today was again very much history ;) I like such mtitelalterlichen buildings very much and I could forever learn something about the stories of these churches and buildings.... Hope it's the same for you. See you next time!

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