Storkyrkan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Saint Nicolaus Church), most commonly known as Storkyrkan (The Great Church) is the oldest church in Stockholm. It is situated in Stockholm's "Old Town" (Gamla Stan) next to the Royal Palace.
Storkyrkan was first mentioned in a written source dated 1279, and became a Lutheran Protestant church in 1527. The parish church since the Middle Ages of the Nikolai parish, covering the whole island on which the Old Town stands, it has also been the cathedral of Stockholm since the Diocese of Stockholm was broken out from the Archdiocese of Uppsala and the Diocese of Strängnäs in 1942. The last Swedish king to be crowned here was Oscar II in 1873.
The single-tower church is built of brick, covered in plaster and painted yellow with white details. It originates as a 13th century Gothic structure, but the exterior was substantially remodelled in Baroque style ca 1740 by the architect Johan Eberhard Carlberg. The most famous of its treasures is the dramatic wooden statue of Saint George and the Dragon attributed to Bernt Notke (1489). The statue also serves as a reliquary, containing relics supposedly of Saint George and two other saints. The church also contains a copy of the oldest known painting of Stockholm, which was originally painted in 1535.
