The Fredrik Church ( sv, Fredrikskyrkan) is located in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

Blekinge Län Blekinge County ( sv, Blekinge län) is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne County, Skåne, Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Kalmar County, Kalmar and the Baltic Sea. The capital is Karl ...

, southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Situated on

Stortorget Stortorget (, "the Grand Square") is a public square in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is the oldest square in Stockholm, the historical centre on which the medieval urban conglomeration gradually came into being. To ...

, the main square in the city centre, The Fredrik Church is included within the Karlskrona

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

History

Construction on the Fredrik Church began September 9, 1720 as a replacement for the city's temporary wooden church,

Hedvig Eleonora Church Hedvig Eleonora Church ( sv, Hedvig Eleonora kyrka) is a church in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Östermalm and belongs to the Church of Sweden and is parish church for Hedvig Eleonora Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm. The church ...

. The Fredrik Church's first stone was laid by the then Governor Salomon von Otter, the foundation wall was completed on August 25, 1721, and the church was consecrated in 1744. Though Crown Prince Adolf Frederick was present for the event, the building was named in honor of

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...

. The spires atop the church towers were completed in 1758. There were several restorations. The one in 1805–06 was led by architect

Olof Tempelman Olov (or Olof) is a Swedish form of Olav/Olaf, meaning "ancestor's descendant". A common short form of the name is ''Olle''. The name may refer to: * Per-Olov Ahrén (1926–2004), Swedish clergyman, bishop of Lund from 1980 to 1992 *Per-Olov Br ...

. Interior restorations occurred in 1913–15 under

Axel Lindegren Axel may refer to: People * Axel (name), all persons with the name Places * Axel, Netherlands, a town ** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586 Arts, entertainment, media * ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove * ''Axel'', a Cirque d ...

, and there was another in 1967–68. An exterior restoration occurred in 1997–98.

Architecture and fittings

The Fredrik Church was built in the

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style after a design by

Nicodemus Tessin the Younger Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (May 23, 1654 – April 10, 1728) was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator. The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle ...

. Its towers are a notable feature. The

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

is housed in the south tower, and there are 35 bells, which were installed in 1967 by the . The clock chimes three times a day. The 1854 pulpit is in a neoclassical style by the design of architect

Johan Adolf Hawerman Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...

; it predates the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. The carved wood

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

was donated by the ship builder

Gilbert Sheldon Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death. Early life Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 ...

. The church silver is preserved in a massive safe. The church's first organ came from Hedvig Eleonora Church. When a decision was made to purchase a larger and more suitable organ, Lars Wahlberg received the contract to build an organ with 29 stops, 2 manuals and a pedal. When it was finished in 1764, he had inserted the 34 voices that are driven by six large bellows. Wahlberg's organ was replaced in 1905 by one built by Åkerman & Lund Orgelbyggeri in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

; it was reconstructed in 1982–87 by Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri.

References

External links

{{Coord, 56.16111, 15.5880, display=title Churches in the Diocese of Lund Churches in Blekinge County Karlskrona Churches completed in 1744 1744 establishments in Sweden