Västerås Cathedral facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Västerås Cathedral |
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| Västerås domkyrka | |
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Västerås Cathedral
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| 59°36′45″N 16°32′28″E / 59.61250°N 16.54111°E | |
| Location | Västerås |
| Country | Sweden |
| Denomination | Church of Sweden |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Dedication | Virgin Mary & John the Baptist |
| Consecrated | 16 August 1271 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 1,100 (sitting) |
| Length | 93.2 m (305 ft 9 in) |
| Width | 34.4 m (112 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 91.8 m (301 ft 2 in) |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Västerås |
Västerås Cathedral, known as Västerås domkyrka in Swedish, is a very old and important church in Västerås, Sweden. It's the main church for the Diocese of Västerås. This amazing building has five levels and a shiny copper roof. It also has a tall tower on the west side with a unique, pointed copper spire. The cathedral is built in a style called Brick Gothic, which was popular in Scandinavia.
Cathedral History: A Journey Through Time
The church you see today started as a smaller, three-story building in the 1200s. It was built in the Romanesque style. On August 16, 1271, it was officially opened. The church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist.
Over the years, the cathedral has been made much bigger. In the 1460s, Bishop Lydeke Abelsson helped expand the church towards the east. By 1517, a chapel was added to the southwest corner. This made the church the size it is today.
The copper roof you see was added in the 1600s. The current tall spire, which is the very top part of the tower, was designed in 1694. It was created by a famous architect named Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. This spire is special because it's made of oak wood without any iron beams or nails. It's covered in copper, making it shine.
During the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s, many changes were made inside the church. These changes updated its look and feel.
Johannes Rudbeckius was a bishop in Västerås from 1619 until he passed away in 1646. He was an important person in the church's history. The cathedral is also the resting place of Eric XIV of Sweden, who was the King of Sweden from 1560 to 1568. His sarcophagus, which is a stone coffin, is kept here.
The Cathedral's Amazing Organ
The organ in Västerås Cathedral is very special. It was built by a company called Åkerman & Lund in Stockholm. When it was finished in 1898, experts said it was "one of the most significant in our land and in more than one respect unique."
When it was first built, the organ had 40 "stops." These stops are like different sets of pipes that make various sounds. It was one of the first large organs in Sweden to use a special system called "tubular pneumatic action." It also had five "high-pressure stops," which create very powerful sounds. The beautiful front part of the organ was designed by Agi Lindegren.
Over its long life, the organ has been made even bigger a few times. The most recent updates happened in 1998 and 2009. Even with these changes, the main part of the organ is still the one from 1898. The goal of the updates was to bring back the grand, original sound of the instrument. Today, this impressive organ has 65 stops and can be played using four keyboards and foot pedals.
Images for kids
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Baptismal font
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Altarpiece
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Interior view of the cathedral
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Tomb of Eric XIV of Sweden
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Statue of Johannes Rudbeckius
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The cathedral seen from the banks of River Svartån
