Katarina Church


Katarina kyrka is one of the major churches in central Stockholm, Sweden. The original building was constructed 1656-1695. It has been rebuilt twice after being destroyed by fires, the second time during the 1990s. The Katarina-Sofia borough is named after the parish and the neighbouring parish of Sofia.
Construction of the church started during the reign of Charles X of Sweden, and the church is named after Princess Catherine, mother of the king, wife of John Casimir, Palsgrave of Pfalz-Zweibrücken and half-sister of Gustavus Adolphus. The original architect was Jean de la Vallée. The construction was severely delayed due to shortage of funds.
In 1723 the church, together with half of the buildings in the parish, was completely destroyed in a major fire. Rebuilding started almost immediately, under supervision of Göran Josua Adelcrantz, the city architect, who designed a larger, octagonal tower.
On May 17, 1990, the church burned down again, leaving almost nothing remaining but the external walls. Architect Ove Hidemark was responsible for rebuilding the church, which reopened in 1995. The new organ was built by J. L. van den Heuvel Orgelbouw in the Netherlands.
Several famous Swedes are buried in the cemetery surrounding the church, most notably the assassinated Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. Others include the popular Dutch-Swedish singer Cornelis Vreeswijk, as well as the former football player Sven Bergqvist, and Sten Sture the Elder.

Notable architectural features

Karl XII's Trappa
Karl XII's Stair is the double staircase that leads from the cemetery up to the southern entrance of the church and is so named because of its ornate railing. It was built sometime between 1712 and 1715 and was dedicated in 1715 as indicated by the date on the portion on the stair's landing. The stair's namesake is Charles XII of Sweden who was king at the time, and his royal monogram appears above the dedication date. The railing was made by the Blacksmith Benjamin Roth and renovated by his son, Carl Roth, in 1776. On the pillars on either side of the stair is engraved a poem about Karl XII:
"När Karl den tolfte kronan bar,
man denna trappa uppbyggt har
som Herrans hus sin prydnad ger,
på sätt man här för ögon ser.
Förr'n någon sätter foten hit
rannsake han sig själv med flit
att Gud hans själ till kyrkan får.
Ty han då väl till kyrkan går.
När handen din vid gallret rör,
så ställ dig Jakobs stege för.
På den Guds änglars dyra tropp
steg änglar ned, steg änglar opp.
Så stig ock du en ängel from
i tro, i bot, i kristendom
här trappan både opp och ner
och tänk att Jakobs Gud det ser.
Och när du ned av berget går
på vilket här Guds boning står,
låt då din bön, din tro ock hopp
till Himlaberget stig opp.
Sist bed: att detta tempel må
i vår och senare tiden stå;
att där och kring hela Nord
må aldrig tryta Herrans ord."