Maria Magdalena Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Church of Saint Mary Magdalene |
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| Location | Stockholm County |
| Country | Sweden |
| Denomination | Church of Sweden |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Mary Magdalene |
| Consecrated | 1634 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Stockholm |
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The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene (Swedish: S:ta Maria Magdalena kyrka) is a beautiful church located in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is named after Mary Magdalene, a friend of Jesus.
This church has a main hall called a nave. At the front, there's a special area for the choir. The main painting at the altar is called Adoration of the Shepherds. It was painted by Louis Masreliez around the year 1800. The pulpit, where sermons are given, was designed by Carl Johan Cronstedt and first used in 1763. It has a special picture of Mary Magdalene.
The front of the church organ was designed by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz in 1774. The large organ used today was built in 1927 and has 50 stops, which are like different sounds. A second organ was added in 1986, and there's a third, smaller organ in the choir area.
The baptismal font, used for baptisms, dates back to 1638. Some items survived a big fire in 1759. The oldest item is a copper pan used for sacraments, which has old writings on it. Inside the church, you can also find special memorials called epitaphs. These include memorials for famous people like Christopher Polhem and Carl Michael Bellman.
Underneath the church, there are old burial rooms. Next to the churchyard, there are small chapels where people are buried. One of these chapels is now used by the Finnish Orthodox Church in Sweden. Many important people are buried at this church, including writers and artists like Lasse Lucidor, Erik Johan Stagnelius, Werner Aspenström, Karl August Nicander, and Evert Taube.
Contents
History of the Church
Early Beginnings
The story of this church began in the 1350s. At that time, King Magnus Eriksson received permission from Pope Clement VI to build a funeral chapel here. He named it after Mary Magdalene. We don't have many records about what happened to that first building. Old pictures show it as a small church with one main hall and a tall tower with a pointy top.
Building and Rebuilding
In the early 1520s, when Gustav Vasa was fighting to free Stockholm, his soldiers camped in the chapel. They faced a tough attack from the troops of Christian II of Denmark. This event might have been one reason why King Vasa decided to destroy all churches, monasteries, and chapels around the city in 1527. This happened after Protestantism became the main religion. The chapel of Mary Magdalene was also destroyed.
However, King Vasa's son, John III, started building a new church on the same spot in 1588. But he passed away in 1592, and the construction stopped. The church was finally finished in 1634.
Baroque Style and Fire
Later, two famous architects, Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and his son the Younger, helped give the church its beautiful Baroque look. The elder Tessin designed a tall spire for the church tower, which was completed in 1676. He thought it was the most beautiful spire in Stockholm.
Sadly, in 1759, a big fire destroyed the spire and about 300 other buildings nearby. Carl Johan Cronstedt was chosen to rebuild the church. He finished his work in 1763. He carefully kept many of the original designs by the Tessins, so the church still looks much like it did back then. Johan Hafwersatt and Christian von Thum added decorative paintings to the church in 1683 and 1684.
The inside of the church was restored in 1927. The yellow color on the outside was refreshed in 1986.
See also
- List of churches in Stockholm
