The most beautiful religious buildings Svealand

Riddarholmskyrkan (Knights' Church) is the only medieval church still visible in Stockholm. It houses the tombs of the kings of Sweden. It is here that Gustav II Adolf, Charles XII, Charles XIV John, Gustav V and their wives are buried. The coats of arms of the knights of the Royal Order of the Seraphim are also displayed here, and cover part of the walls of the building. The church, originally a Franciscan monastery, was built in 1280. Its bell tower overlooks the island of Riddarholmen.

Rather well preserved, the ruins of these two churches built in the th century dominate the lake. They are the memory of Sigtuna, and are among the first stone buildings erected in the Mälaren Lake area. By all seasons, under the snow or under the spring sun, the rough stones and vaults have a typical charm and recall the ferveur of the Nordic peoples, freshly christianized, to honor God.

The façade, in the shape of a Greek cross, evokes ancient temples. Inaugurated in 1906, this church has a quiet and spacious interior. The dome, decorated with a fresco depicting the transfiguration of Christ, provides a vast shaft of light. The four evangelists are represented at the intersection of the transepts. The altar was originally created to adorn the cathedral in Uppsala, but was finally installed here after a long stay at the Nordic Museum in Skansen.

It is the largest church in Scandinavia. Gothic in style, with a renovated interior after the fire that ravaged it in 1702, it is a curious mixture of medieval architecture, Art Nouveau (most of the frescoes were done in the early ^20th century) and Baroque, with the largest pulpit in the country. Behind the altar lies King Gustav Vasa with two of his wives, in a majestic azure chapel. A chapel is also dedicated to St. Brigid.

Built on the site of the former convent of St. Clare founded in 1280, the present church dates from the ^18th and ^19th centuries. This beautiful red brick building, located in the heart of the modern center, is adorned with the most impressive (and probably the highest) bell tower in the city. Freshly renovated, it shoots a copper spire into the sky and houses the largest carillon in Stockholm. The southern façade is covered with ivy, giving the garden a poetic touch.

A church built between 1768 and 1774, renovated several times until 1997. It is worth a short stop for its neoclassical interior and its rococo ornaments, the fresco on its dome and the Descartes Monument, a sculpture by the artist Johan Tobias Sergel dedicated to the French philosopher who died in Stockholm after his stay at the Swedish Court during the reign of Queen Christine. In the cemetery surrounding the building lies the assassinated Prime Minister Olof Palme.

A large church that dominates the square and in which free lunch concerts are given in winter. Originally it was called Örebro kyrka because it was the only religious building in the city belonging to the Swedish Church. Construction began in the late ^13th century and was completed in the ^mid-14th century. For the record, it was here that the decision was made to make the French Empire Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte the Prince of the Kingdom, in 1810.

This cathedral with its atypical shape (the building is relatively low, but the tip of the bell tower is huge) was built in the 13th century and holds in its museum a collection of silver objects dating back to that time. The present church was originally built as a three-storey Romanesque basilica in the 13th century and consecrated on 16 August 1271. The cathedral has undergone many extensions since then. It also houses the marble tomb of King Erik XIV.

Built on a rocky outcrop called Brunkebergsåsen, St John's Church was built in only six years and completed in 1890. The interior, in pure neo-Gothic style, is well worth seeing. The organ and the stained glass windows are superb, and the brown and orange colours that adorn the pillars and the arches are original enough to surprise the visitor. The park around the church is quite nice and Stockholmers sunbathe in the summer.