This church made of brick and with a high tower is the Riddarholmen Church. It’s the only preserved medieval monastery church in Stockholm as well as the oldest church in the city. It started out as a monastery and a monastery church for the Franciscan friars around 1290. In those days, the church had just one nave, making it very narrow. And it had no tower because the Franciscan order didn’t allow it. Instead there was a lovely garden and dormitories. The Franciscan friars are often called greyfriars, because they’re dressed in grey. Apart from the clothes on their backs and a rosary, greyfriars weren’t allowed any possessions. Not even shoes. Let’s hope they made an exception for those who came all the way up to this cold country.
When the Reformation came to Sweden in the 16th century, the greyfriars were chucked out of their own monastery and it all fell to disrepair. In the 17th century everything was torn down, except the church, which was brought back to life as a royal burial church. The first one to move in with his sarcophagus was the immensely popular king Gustav II in 1632. After him every single king was buried in here until the 1950’s. With the notable exception of Gustav II’s only daughter: queen Kristina. She abdicated her throne but, more importantly, she became a catholic. But she ended up in the Vatican instead, so she was ok. Apart from royalty, really high officers and aristocrats and their families could be put to rest in here. See the chunky little buildings sticking out of the church? They are mortuary chapels and inside them the royal dynasties rest in big, heavy sarcophagi. But today, Swedish royalty are buried at Haga, just outside the city.
Today, this is more of a museum than a church. It has no isolation and no heating - it’ s freezing in there all year round. It’s so cold the guides inside wear woolly underwear in the middle of summer – it’s true! It hasn’t had a congregation in a very long time and no regular service since the early 19th century. But in the morning of Christmas Day you will find it full of scouts. Packed to the rafters with kids and full of song and candlelight, I think the feeling here is nice and warm.
Photo Riddarholmskyrkan vy 2012 by Holger.Ellgaard is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
