Katarina Church

Katarina kyrka
January 2013 view of Katarina kyrka from outside
Religion
AffiliationChurch of Sweden
RiteLutheran
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusParish church
Year consecrated1724
Location
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Geographic coordinates59°19′01″N 18°04′41″E / 59.31694°N 18.07806°E / 59.31694; 18.07806
Architecture
StyleBaroque
Groundbreaking1656
Completed1695
Website
Official Website[permanent dead link]

Katarina kyrka (Church of Catherine) is one of the major churches in central Stockholm, Sweden. 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 is named after Katarina Parish 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.

On 17 May 1990, the church burned down again, leaving almost nothing remaining but the external walls. Architect Ove Hidemark was responsible for rebuilding the church, which 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 notably the assassinated Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. Others include the popular Dutch-Swedish singer Cornelis Vreeswijk, as well as the former football player Sven Bergqvist, Rapper Einár, and Sten Sture the Elder.

The van den Heuvel pipe organ