Växjö Cathedral
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Växjö Cathedral ( sv, Växjö domkyrka) is a cathedral in
Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...
, Sweden. It is the seat of the
Bishop of Växjö A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
within the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
. According to legend, the cathedral was founded by
Saint Sigfrid of Sweden Saint Sigfrid of Sweden (, , , ) was a missionary-bishop in Scandinavia during the first half of the 11th century. Originally from England, Saint Sigfrid is credited in late medieval king-lists and hagiography with performing the baptism of the ...
. The first stone church on the site, parts of which are incorporated into the current cathedral, was built in the 1160s. The cathedral has been much altered over time, and its appearance today is largely the result of a far-reaching restoration carried out in the 1950s under the guidance of architect Kurt von Schmalensee. Växjö Cathedral is a
hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...
with a western tower and a square
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
. It was built on a location which was probably used as a marketplace during pre-Christian times. Very few of the cathedral's furnishings have survived from earlier centuries; most of the works of art adorning the cathedral date from the 20th or 21st centuries and many of them are made of glass.


History


Middle Ages

The legend of
Saint Sigfrid of Sweden Saint Sigfrid of Sweden (, , , ) was a missionary-bishop in Scandinavia during the first half of the 11th century. Originally from England, Saint Sigfrid is credited in late medieval king-lists and hagiography with performing the baptism of the ...
relates how Sigfrid, a missionary from England, chose Växjö as the site to build a cathedral. He was said to also have been buried in the cathedral that he founded. While the legend is largely unreliable as a historical source, it is probable that a wooden church was built on the same site as the current cathedral in the 11th century, during the
Christianization of Scandinavia The Christianization of Scandinavia, as well as other Nordic countries and the Baltic countries, took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden established their own Archdioceses, responsible directly ...
. Coins from the 11th century have been found during excavations within the church, and a preserved Christian
runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...
from the same century (
Rundata The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base ( sv, Samnordisk runtextdatabas) is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of runic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runestones in a machine-readable way f ...
number Sm 10), today located next to the
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
wall, may be further indication of the early presence of a wooden church on the site. The
Diocese of Växjö The Diocese of Växjö ( sv, Växjö stift) is one of the 13 dioceses or regional units of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It was also a former Roman Catholic bishopric. Lutheran diocese Diocese of Växjö is situated in southern Sweden and inclu ...
was formed at the end of the 1160s, and the construction of a stone church was most likely initiated at approximately the same time. The stone church was probably built around the wooden church, so that it could continue being used while the new building was erected. The foundations of this first stone church were unearthed and examined during a thorough restoration of the cathedral in 1957–58. It consisted of a
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of the same width as the current nave excepting the
aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
s, a more narrow choir with an
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
and an auxiliary building to the north (and possibly also to the south) of the choir. The western tower was added slightly later. Both structurally and stylistically the earliest church was evidently influenced by the architecture of
Lund Cathedral Lund Cathedral ( sv, Lunds domkyrka) is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archiepi ...
, and it was probably similar to . The earliest cathedral contained the
relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s of Saint Sigfrid, who supposedly founded the cathedral and was buried within it. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the church was dedicated to Saint Sigfrid and
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
. The tower of the cathedral was damaged by fire during the latter part of the 13th century, probably during a conflict between King
Valdemar of Sweden Valdemar (English: Waldemar; sv, Valdemar Birgersson; 1239 – 26 December 1302) was King of Sweden from 1250 to 1275. Biography Valdemar was the son of the Swedish princess Ingeborg Eriksdotter and Birger Jarl, from the House of Bjelbo. ...
and his brother
Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
in 1276, or in 1277 when the deposed Valdemar and
Eric V of Denmark Eric V Klipping (1249 – 22 November 1286) was King of Denmark from 1259 to 1286. After his father Christopher I died, his mother Margaret Sambiria ruled Denmark in his name until 1266, proving to be a competent regent. Between 1261 and 1262, t ...
ravaged the province. The tower had probably been used as an improvised fortification, and suffered damage as a result of the fighting. Afterwards, a repentant Valdemar supplied funds for its reconstruction. The choir and apse were also rebuilt into a square choir and a
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
during the 13th century. This probably coincided with the establishment of a proper
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
in Växjö. A
sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...
was also added, probably in the early 14th century; it was robbed by Danish and German soldiers in 1318 and thus clearly existed by then. During the first half of the 14th century, a chapel was added to the south side of the building, and two transepts were also built during the same century. The increased building activity coincided with the expansion of the town of Växjö, which received
town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
in the 14th century. At the end of the century, the shape of the cathedral had become rather irregular as a result of these successive additions and rebuilding schemes. Major changes were made during the 15th century. The different parts of the church were united into a single coherent room in the form of a
hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...
; the tower was raised and probably acquired double spires (this is possibly depicted on an
altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...
from 1500 in ); a
church porch A church porch is a room-like structure at a church's main entrance. A porch protects from the weather to some extent. Some porches have an outer door, others a simple gate, and in some cases the outer opening is not closed in any way. The porch ...
was added in front of the north portal and a new chapel was added to the south. Inside, uniform vaults were built to support the ceiling. The
rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic ...
s that were constructed are of a type which drew on examples from
Vadstena Abbey The Abbey Pax Mariae ( la, Monasterium sanctarum Mariæ Virgìnis et Brigidæ in Vatzstena), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Orde ...
and the earlier architecture of the
Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
. Very similar vaults exist in Saint Lawrence's Church in
Söderköping Söderköping is a locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,992 inhabitants in 2010. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''town''. ...
. An inscription in the church, which has since vanished, stated that the vaults were finished in 1509 and made by a mason from
Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...
. These changes were likely to have been carried out between approximately 1460 and 1500. A
chantry chapel A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...
was added in an extension south of the tower in the 15th century .


Changes after the Reformation

Following the
Reformation in Sweden The Reformation in Sweden is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden, but the process was slow and did not end definitively until the Uppsala Synod of 1593 and the following War against Sigismund, with ...
, the cathedral was converted into a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
cathedral. In the process, it lost many of its sources of income. Furthermore, the church was plundered and burnt by Danish troops in 1570, during the
Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck, and Polan ...
. King
John III of Sweden John III ( sv , Johan III, fi, Juhana III; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomous ...
granted the citizens of Växjö three years of reprieve from taxation following the attack, so that they would have funds to repair the cathedral. Nevertheless, repairs took six years, and the tower was not fully repaired until 1585. During the reparations, the spires of the church were redesigned, and a mechanical clock was installed on the west façade of the church. By the end of the 16th century, the cathedral had attained approximately the size and appearance it has today. In 1612, Danish troops again entered Växjö and used the cathedral as their quarters; during this time the
pew A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview ...
s were destroyed and the archive of the cathedral burnt, and in 1629 the spires were damaged in a storm and again had to be replaced. In 1740, one of the spires was struck by lightning, which led to another devastating fire. The entire roof and the uppermost part of the tower were destroyed, as were the vaults in the east part of the church. The last remaining medieval furnishings were also lost. Repairs started in 1741 and would last into the 1770s. The medieval roof was not reconstructed but replaced with a
hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
, and the two spires of the tower replaced with a single tower in a
Classical style Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
. The new tower was designed by
Carl Hårleman Baron Carl Hårleman (27 August 1700 – 9 February 1753) was a Swedish architect. Biography Hårleman was born in Stockholm, son of the garden architect and head of the royal parks and gardens Johan Hårleman, who had been ennobled in 1698. ...
and somewhat altered by
Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz (30 January 1716 – 1 March 1796) was a Swedish architect and civil servant. Adelcrantz's style developed from a rococo influenced by Carl Hårleman, the leading architect in Sweden in the early years of his career, to a ...
after Hårleman's death in 1753.


Changes by Carl Georg Brunius and Carl Möller

Following several fires in Växjö during the late 18th and early 19th century, concerns were raised about the fire safety of the cathedral. The roof was considered to be particularly at risk. The bishop, writer
Esaias Tegnér Esaias Tegnér (; – ) was a Swedish writer, professor of the Greek language, and bishop. He was during the 19th century regarded as the father of modern poetry in Sweden, mainly through the national romantic epic ''Frithjof's Saga''. He has be ...
, together with county governor Count , decided to hire architect
Carl Georg Brunius Carl Georg Brunius (23 March 1793 – 12 November 1869) was a classical scholar, art historian, archaeologist and architect. He served as a professor and rector at Lund University. During 1833-59, he led the restoration work of Lund Cathedra ...
to draw up plans for a reconstruction. Brunius proposed a radical change to the exterior of the church: placing the nave and choir under a low
gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...
while at the same time replacing the roof over the aisles with several gable roofs in an angle to the nave, and ending in
stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a ...
s. The tower spire and the choir were also to be decorated with stepped gables. The inspiration for this design came from German architecture and medieval city churches in
Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
. Despite opposition from the government agency for the administration of state buildings ('), Brunius' plans were largely executed and the cathedral was rebuilt between 1849 and 1854. Further repairs and minor changes were made in the 1860s and 1880s. Additional far-reaching changes were made 1898–99, when the interior was re-decorated to designs by architect
Carl Möller Carl Oskar Möller, (20 April 1857 - 4 December 1933), was a Swedish architect and public official, since 1896 married to Dagmar Bosse. His most well-known works include St. John's Church in Stockholm, which opened in 1890. Möller was in his t ...
. A new sacristy was built, a new clock installed and
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows inserted. At the same time all the vaults and walls of the church were painted with murals, and
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
pews,
choir stall A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...
s, an altarpiece and
altar rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and oth ...
were made for the church by local artisans to designs by Möller. The new interior gave the cathedral a consistent
medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
appearance.


Renovation 1958–1960

Brunius had predicted that his renovation would last for 100 years, which proved to be right; by 1940 the need for repairs was again imminent. An initial plan to restore the cathedral was prepared by architect and was limited to repairing the roof and walls and installing a new heating system. After the death of Fant in 1953, architect Kurt von Schmalensee took over the responsibility and presented several proposals, including an idea for a more thorough reconstruction of the cathedral. This proposal was accepted in 1958. Between 1958 and 1960 the cathedral was substantially rebuilt in an effort to recreate some of the cathedral's earlier, medieval appearance. New floors were laid, the walls and vaults were strengthened and partially rebuilt, a new southern portal was erected, the windows were changed, the tower was altered and two new spires were built. The exterior was painted red, traces of which had been discovered when repairing the walls. The reconstruction was largely seen as a success at the time. Less extensive repairs were also carried out in the late 20th century.


Location and surroundings

Växjö Cathedral lies at the outskirts of the oldest part of the town of Växjö. When the cathedral was built, its south façade was less than from the shore of
Växjö Lake Växjö lake ( sv, Växjösjön) is a lake in Växjö Municipality Växjö Municipality (''Växjö kommun'') is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Kronoberg County in southern Sweden, where Växjö is the seat. The municipality was cre ...
. It is possible that this was the location of a marketplace during pre-Christian times, and that the unusually low-lying location of the cathedral was chosen so it would be close to a well-established place of gathering. Due to water control measures taken during the 18th and 19th centuries, the shore is now considerably further away from the cathedral, which now stands in a park laid out in 1879. From the Middle Ages until the 19th century, the cathedral was surrounded by several buildings related to the church, but only the former home of the
cathedral school Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these e ...
remains, dating from the 17th century. In the park surrounding the cathedral, on ground which was formerly a cemetery, there is a
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
statue commemorating Bishop Esaias Tegnér, created in 1926 and designed by sculptor
Arvid Källström Arvid Källström (17 February 1893 – 27 October 1967) was a Swedish sculptor. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics. References

1893 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Sw ...
; it is located north of the cathedral, between the cathedral and the former school house. In front of the cathedral there is a statue commemorating Saint Sigfrid, installed in 1999 and designed by sculptor
Peter Linde Peter Linde (born 9 February 1946 in Karlshamn) is a Swedish sculptor. He was educated at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm in 1970–1975. He is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. Linde has made many public sculptures in S ...
.


Architecture

The oldest parts of the current building are the base of the tower and the pillars of the nave; they incorporate building material from the 12th century. The walls of the upper part of the tower largely date form the end of the Middle Ages, though as noted above, the appearance of the tower has changed substantially throughout the centuries. North of the tower is an addition from the 1750s, while the southern extension of the tower is medieval. The choir walls are also medieval, the remnants of an originally larger choir from the 13th century. The easternmost parts of both aisles date from 1849 to 1850, and the southern annex to the choir was built as a sacristy in 1898–99. The exterior of the cathedral is predominantly painted red, with the dressed stone around windows,
blind arcade A blind arcade or blank arcade is an arcade (a series of arches) that has no actual openings and that is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element: i.e., the arches are not windows or openings but are part of the masonry face. It is ...
s and other stone elements painted white. The building consists of a nave with two aisles with a rectangular floor plan, a broad western tower and a square choir. The large windows in the south and north walls date from Brunius' reconstruction. The west façade is decorated with blind arcades created during the major restoration in the 1950s. The tower supports two tall spires and has nine bell openings. The main entrance to the cathedral is located in the base of the tower, in the west façade. Its current appearance dates from the middle of the 19th century; the copper-covered doors and the ornamental window in the tympanum are from the 1950s. A second entrance, built in the 1950s, is located in the south wall. A single copper roof covers both the nave, the aisles and the choir.


Interior and furnishings

Växjö Cathedral is a hall church, with nave and aisles of equal height. It is three
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
wide and four bays long. The interior is painted white and uniformly lit by windows of approximately equal size, all except one dating from the 1950s renovation. The ceiling is supported by 13 vaults, of which 7 are medieval. The medieval vaults are mostly located in the westernmost part of the church. Traces of medieval murals have been restored in the south-west corner (the former chantry chapel). Inside the main entrance is a windbreak with glass doors decorated by artist and installed in 1996. The entrance also contains a memorial stone from the 18th century, containing a brief history of the cathedral, and above the doorway leading to the nave there is a
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
relief depicting Christ giving a blessing, by artist . Inside the nave, a stone marker decorated with a stylised "S" and three crosses has been placed in the crossing, where it is likely that the body of Saint Sigfrid would have been interred. The present altarpiece of the cathedral was installed in 2002. It is made of glass, and designed by glass artist . A former altar painting, from 1733 by
Georg Engelhard Schröder Georg Engelhard Schröder (31 May 1684 – 17 May 1750), also spelled George Engelhardt Schroeder, was a Swedish painter. Life Early life Schroder's father, Veit Engelhard Schröder (died 1710), was a goldsmith from the German city of Nuremberg. ...
, hangs in the north aisle. The
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). ...
is also a work in glass, by artist . Another piece of glass art is a candle holder located to the west of the entrance to the nave; it was made in the late 20th century by with metal parts by Lars Larsson. The
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
and the former baptismal font were made by in connection with the restoration in the 1950s. The former chantry chapel is screened off from the rest of the church by glass doors, also decorated by Irene Jarz, and contains an altar and cross by Jan Brazda. There are also two stained glass windows designed by in the chantry chapel. The church chandeliers are from several different periods; in the westernmost part of both aisles are Gothic Revival chandeliers which were probably donated by opera singer
Christina Nilsson Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice of first three then two and a half octaves tra ...
. There are two wooden sculptures from the 20th century depicting
Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
and
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
in the nave, the work of sculptor
Eva Spångberg Eva Margareta Spångberg (2 April 1923 – 8 November 2011) was a Swedish sculptor. She made a large number of wooden sculptures for Swedish churches, and was born in Östhammar municipality. Her family was not particularly religious, but she star ...
. The cathedral has a
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 ...
installed in 1962 and inaugurated the next year; it consists of 27 bells. The cathedral also has five
church bell A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and t ...
s. Växjö Cathedral has three
church organ Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. ...
s. The largest has a façade made in the 1770s, though the mechanism of the organ dates from 2002, when it was last renovated. Two smaller organs are in the north aisle (from 1984) and in the south aisle (from 2001).


Use and heritage status

Växjö Cathedral is the seat of the
Bishop of Växjö A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
within the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
, and also serves as a parish church within the parish of Växjö (). The cathedral hosts regular services and is used as a concert venue as well. It is a
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in the buildings database of the
Swedish National Heritage Board The Swedish National Heritage Board ( sv, Riksantikvarieämbetet; RAÄ) is a Swedish government agency responsible for World Heritage Sites and other national heritage monuments and historical environments. It is governed by the Ministry of Cult ...
.


References


Works cited

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaxjo Cathedral Växjö Lutheran cathedrals in Sweden Roman Catholic cathedrals in pre-Reformation Sweden Churches in Kronoberg County Churches in the Diocese of Växjö