Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Saint James's Church
(
Swedish
:
Sankt Jacobs kyrka
) is a
church
in central
Stockholm
,
Sweden
, dedicated to apostle
Saint James the Greater
,
patron saint
of travellers. It is often mistakenly called
St Jacob's
. The confusion arises because Swedish, like many other languages, uses the same name for both
James
and
Jacob
.
Arguably the most central church in the Swedish capital, surrounded by the popular park
Kungstradgarden
, the
Royal Opera
, the square
Gustav Adolfs torg
; and near
Sergels torg
, the
Royal Palace
, and governmental office
Rosenbad
, the parish of the church was limited to 150 souls in the late 1980s, and was thus merged into the parish of the
Stockholm Cathedral
in 1989.
[1]
A bust of Swedish tenor
Jussi Bjorling
(1911-1960) stands outside.
The church took a long time to complete. As a consequence it includes a wide range of architectural styles, such as
Late Gothic
,
Renaissance
and
Baroque
.
[1]
The building is based on the design of multiple architects over the centuries:
Willem Boy
(1580?93),
Hans Ferster
(1635?43),
Goran Joshuae Adelcrantz
and
Carl Harleman
(1723?35),
Carl Moller
and
Agi Lindegren
(1893?94).
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The western gable of the medieval church is still present on the extreme left of this view of Stockholm from around 1580.
Copperplate by
Frantz Hogenberg
.
The origin of the church dates back to a
chapel
belonging to the
Solna
parish (Solna Municipality now being one of the suburbs of Stockholm) and at the time built on the outskirts of the parish. It is first mentioned in 1311, and archaeological excavations in 1948 and one more recently documented its location just south of the present church and reconstructions showed its extent was limited to 8×13 meters.
[3]
The parish itself is believed to be a century or so younger than the chapel as the church is first mentioned as
ecclesia parrochialis
in the 1430s. For defensive purposes the demolition of the church, together with other churches on the ridges surrounding the medieval city, was ordered by King
Gustav Vasa
following the
Reduction
in 1527. It is therefore believed the church was built in
brick
rather than wood, since the king needed bricks for his defensive structures.
[1]
Present varied vaults
However, in 1580 King
John III
ordered a church to be rebuilt on the same location, as part of his attempt to incorporate the urban conglomeration on the northern ridges into the city. Construction on the present church was led by master-builder
Heinrich van Huwen
and started in 1588. As completed by the time for the death of John III, the design of
Willem Boy
(c. 1520?1592) included a central
nave
flanked by two tall
aisles
resting on
sandstone
columns.
[1]
Charles IX
's intentions to make the northern suburbs (today's
Norrmalm
) an independent city motivated him to order the church to be lengthened by two
bays
in 1630. The first
Governor of Stockholm
Klas Flemming
employed master mason
Hans Ferster
and stone-cutter Heinrich Blume in 1633, which resulted in the star-ribbed vaults completed in 1642. The following year the southern portico was begun by Blume together with the Renaissance gables of the transepts later destroyed in the fire of 1723. The church could finally be inaugurated November 26, 1643, in the presence of Queen
Christina
. At that time, the northern ridges had been divided into two parishes (the other being that of
Klara Church
) separated by the northbound
esker
Brunkebergsasen
. However, the church interior was only partly completed and a
sacristy
was added in 1698.
[1]
The nave
A fire destroyed the roof in 1723. A new central tower designed by
Goran Joshuae Adelcrantz
was inaugurated in 1739 The many
steeples
of the church was designed by
Carl Harleman
. The exterior was repainted in a grey-white colour in the 1770s.
[1]
During the 19th century, most of the 17th-century interior was hastily replaced, including both the southern and northern galleries, the
retable
, and the organ gallery. Complaints from the parish regarding the now dark church, caused the galleries to be rebuilt again in 1825. The church started using
central heating
in 1850 and
gas lighting
in 1862 ? the 1.450 flames exceeding any other church in Stockholm. All these modifications were, however, restored by the work of
Carl Moller
who favoured a
Romantic Nationalistic
Neo-Renaissance
style in Sweden called
Vasa-renassans
and
Agi Lindegren
who worked in a multitude of styles adopted to various contexts. The galleries were thus reshaped into
Neo-Baroque
and the church furnished with electric light.
[1]
An exterior restoration in 1910 gave the church a new copper roof and a sandstone
socle
. A new restoration in 1932?37 resulted in the present rather bare interior, with no changes since except a minor restoration in 1969.
[1]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
S:t Jacobs kyrkas historia
- ^
Guide till Stockholms arkitektur
, p 11.
- ^
Stockholm City Museum
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
59°19′48″N
18°04′12″E
/
59.330°N 18.070°E
/
59.330; 18.070