Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The interior is cobbled with centuries-old
tombstones.
At one time, more
than a thousand people were buried under the church. The tombstone of the
Swedish reformer Olaus Petri is appropriately simple and appropriately loc-
ated—under the pulpit. A witness to the Stockholm Bloodbath, Petri was
nearly executed himself. He went on to befriend Gustav Vasa and guide him
in Lutheranizing Sweden (and turning this cathedral from Catholic to Protest-
ant).
Opposite the pulpit, find the
bronze plaque.
It recalls the 1925 Swedish-
led ecumenical meeting of all Christian leaders—except the pope—that en-
couraged the Church to speak out against the type of evil that resulted in
World War I's horrific death toll.
The
royal boxes
(between the pulpit and the altar) date from 1684. In front
(on the left),
Saint George and the Dragon
(1489) is carved of oak and elk
horn. To some, this symbolizes the Swedes' overcoming the evil Danes. In a
broader sense, it's an inspiration to take up the struggle against even non-Dan-
ish evil. Regardless, it must be the gnarliest dragon's head in all of Europe.
Near the exit, a
painting
depicts Stockholm in the early 1500s, showing
a walled city filling only today's Gamla Stan. It's a 1630 copy of the 1535
original. The strange sun and sky predicted big changes in Sweden—and as
a matter of fact, that's what happened. Gustav Vasa brought on huge reforms
in religion and beyond. (The copies show you the same painting, minus the
glare.)
In June of 2010, this church hosted a royal wedding (Crown Princess Vict-
oria, heir to the throne, married Daniel Westling, her personal trainer.) Ima-
gine the pomp and circumstance as the nation's attention was drawn to this
spot.
The plain door on the right leads to a free WC. The exit door next to
the painting takes you into the kid-friendly churchyard (which was once the
cemetery).
• With your back to the church's front door, turn right and continue down
Trångsund. At the next corner, go downhill on Storkyrkobrinken and take the
first left on...
