Riddarholmen Church ( sv, Riddarholmskyrkan) is the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

of the former medieval Greyfriars Monastery in Stockholm, Sweden. The church serves as the final resting place of most

Swedish monarchs This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union. History The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work '' Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). ...

. Riddarholmen Church is located on the island of

Riddarholmen Riddarholmen (, "The Knights' Islet") is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating back to the 17th century. The main landmark is the church Riddarh ...

, close to the Royal Palace in Stockholm,

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 countries, Nordic c ...

. The congregation was dissolved in 1807 and today the church is used only for burial and commemorative purposes. Swedish monarchs from

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

(d. 1632 AD) to

Gustaf V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

(d. 1950) are entombed here (with only one exception: Queen Christina who is buried within

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

in Rome), as well as the earlier monarchs Magnus III (d. 1290) and Charles VIII (d. 1470). It has been discontinued as a royal burial site in favor of the Royal Cemetery and today is run by departments of the Swedish Government and Royal Court. It is one of the oldest buildings in Stockholm, parts of it dating to the late-13th century, when it was built as a

greyfriars Greyfriars, Grayfriars or Gray Friars is a term for Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, in particular, the Conventual Franciscans. The term often refers to buildings or districts formerly associated with the order. Former Friaries * Greyfriars, Bed ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

. After the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

, the monastery was closed and the building became 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 ...

church. A spire designed by Flemish architect

Willem Boy Willem Boy (french: Guillaume Boyen) (1520 – 1592) was a Flemish painter, sculptor, and architect active in Sweden from around 1558 until his death. Few of Boy's works have survived, and he is mostly remembered for the sarcophagus of King G ...

(1520–1592) was added during the reign of John III, but it was destroyed by a

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

strike on July 28, 1835, after which it was replaced with the present cast-iron spire.

Coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in i ...

of knights of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

are on the walls of the church. When a knight of the Order dies, his coat of arms is hung in the church and when the funeral takes place the church's bells are rung without pause from 12:00 to 13:00.

References

External links

The Riddarholm Church at the Royal Court's website
Cemeteries in Sweden Swedish monarchy Christianity in Stockholm Gothic architecture in Sweden Swedish heraldry Churches in Stockholm Churches in the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden) 13th-century churches in Sweden Burial sites of Swedish royal houses Burial sites of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg Burial sites of the House of Beauharnais Burial sites of the House of Bernadotte Burial sites of the House of Bjelbo Burial sites of the House of Holstein-Gottorp Burial sites of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken {{Sweden-church-stub

See also

References

External links