Strängnäs Cathedral () is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

church in

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, since the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

the seat of the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

Diocese of Strängnäs The Diocese of Strängnäs () is a part of the Lutheran Church of Sweden and has its seat in Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, south of Lake Mälaren. The diocese is made up of the two provinces Närke and Södermanland (except for eastern S ...

Architecture

Construction of the cathedral began in about 1260 with inaugurated in 1291; additions were created during the 1300s and 1400s. In 1330 the core church itself was completed and it was later supplemented during the Middle Ages with a sacristy, towers and lateral choirs. The present characteristic Baroque-style tower hood was built in 1723. It is built mainly of

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

s in the characteristic

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...

style. The original church was built of wood, probably during the first decades of the 12th century, on a spot where

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

rituals used to take place and where the

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Saint Eskil Saint Eskil (11th century) was an Anglo-Saxon monk particularly venerated during the end of the 11th century in the province of Södermanland, Sweden. He was the founder of the first diocese of the lands surrounding Lake Mälaren, today the Di ...

was killed during the mid 11th century. The wooden church was not rebuilt in stone and bricks until 1340, just after

became a diocese. The cathedral contains a mixture of decorative styles. The nave, chancel, and sanctuary are highly traditional, with a very large triptych reredos dominating the high altar at the east end of the building. However, two of the side chapels have been refurbished in highly contemporary style, with modern altars, and abstract artistic decoration and religious symbolism.

Prominent burials

The cathedral contains the tombs of

Charles IX of Sweden Charles IX, also Carl (; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric XIV and of ...

, Sten Sture the Elder, Maria of Palatinate-Simmern and Gustaf Otto Stenbock. On 31 July 2018, the burial regalia (two crowns and an orb) of Charles IX and Christina of Holstein-Gottorp were stolen in a daylight robbery with the thieves escaping by boat. In February 2019 it was reported that the regalia had been found and a man was facing trial accused of the theft.

Strängnäs Cathedral Library

Strängnäs Cathedral Library is one of the oldest surviving and working libraries in Sweden. It dates its origin to the year 1316 when Strängnäs Dominican monastery (according to a record kept by a will) received a widow's donation of books. The library was then built consciously by the bishops

Kort Rogge Kort Rogge ( 1425 — 5 April 1501), also known as Rogge Kyle, Konrad Rogge, Cort Rogge, Conradus Roggo gothus and Conradus Roggo de Holmis, was a Swedish bishop, member of the Privy Council of Sweden, and Renaissance humanist. Background and s ...

and John Matthiæ. During the 1600s, it was expanded by

Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina (; 18 December O.S. 8 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from ...

, through the addition of the spoils of war, especially from the cities of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Olmutz and Nikolsburg. During the 1700s the library expanded through gifts and bequests from learned diocesan clergy. During the 1800s it was kept in the former school building's main hall, and is now in the special Library chancel in the cathedral's northwestern corner. Dr Henrik Aminson (1814-1885) published in 1863 a comprehensive printed directory ''Bibliotheca Templi Cathedralis Stregnensis, quae maximam partem ex Germania Capta est circa finem belli triginta annorum, descripta, 1-2'', of over 600 pages. Most of the printed books are listed in Libris, the Swedish libraries search service. A printed catalogue in two volumes was published in 2017 (Ragnhild Lundgren, ''Strängnäs domkyrkobibliotek. Systematisk katalog över tryckta böcker'').

Gallery

Strängnäs domkyrka, altarskåp vid högaltaret från 1480–1490, 2019b.jpg, Altar Strängnäs domkyrka, predikstolen, skulpterad 1789, 2019c.jpg, Pulpit Jhwh strangnas epitafium.jpg, Epitaph Innertak Strängnäs Domkyrka.jpg, Ceiling Gustaf Otto Stenbock - Gravmonument.jpg, Gustaf Otto Stenbock memorial

References

External links

Strängnäs domkyrka official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangnas Cathedral Lutheran cathedrals in Sweden Roman Catholic cathedrals in pre-Reformation Sweden Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Södermanland County

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Churches in the Diocese of Strängnäs