Solna Church () is a so-called
round church
A round church is a church with a completely circular plan, thus a rotunda in architectural terms.
There are many Nordic round churches in Sweden and Denmark (notably the island of Bornholm); round churches were popular in Scandinavia in the ...
in
Solna Municipality
Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockh ...
near
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
,
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 ...
. It is part of Solna Parish in the
Diocese of Stockholm. The church is located on the headland between
Brunnsviken
Brunnsviken (literally ''The Bay of Wells'') is a by brackish lake in Sweden located on the boundary between Solna Municipality and Stockholm Municipality, connecting to Lilla Värtan through Ålkistan. It has a perimeter of . Around Brunnsvi ...
and Ulvsundasjön, at the southern end of the cemetery
Norra begravningsplatsen
Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables.
Th ...
. The oldest parts of the church are from the later 12th century, a
Romanesque fortress church built in stone.
Today the church consists of a
roundhouse,
weaponhouse,
choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
,
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 ...
,
sacristy
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, 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 us ...
, and two chancel tombs.
Church buildings
The oldest part of the church, the roundhouse, originates from the late 12th century, and was especially built for defense purposes.
Attached to this round center is a weaponhouse (south), a
rectangular
In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is a rectilinear convex polygon or a quadrilateral with four right angles. It can also be defined as: an equiangular quadrilateral, since equiangular means that all of its angles are equal (360°/4 = 90 ...
choir to the east, and a rectangular nave to the west. North of the choir is the sacristy, and to the east an
octagon
In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...
al chancel tomb. There is a second chancel tomb on the south side of the nave. The roundhouse (central tower) is covered by a tall
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout.
The word derives, via Ital ...
, which dominates the appearance of the church. The choir was added in the 13th century. The oldest part of the nave is from the 14th century, and was extended during the 15th century, when the weaponhouse and sacristy were built.
Decorations
The church achieved large parts of its interior under the
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
of
Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie
Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (15 October 1622 – 26 April 1686) was a Swedish Empire, Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Privy Council of Sweden, Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three ...
. In 1674 the western portal was added, a sculptured portal originally constructed for
Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace () is a palace by the Karlberg Canal in Solna Municipality in Sweden, adjacent to Stockholm's Vasastaden district. The palace, built in 1630,Solna: Huvudsta today houses the Military Academy Karlberg.
In the palace park are fou ...
in 1637, and moved to Solna Church in 1674. In 1708 Queen
Ulrika Eleonora commissioned a chancel tomb dedicated to count
Tomas Polus. The roof was destroyed in a fire in 1723, and the current cupola was built after this incident. The ''Lange'' chancel tomb was constructed in the 1780s. In 1883 the church was given a roof of copper plates.
A major restoration took place in 1928 under supervision of architect Erik Fant, when the church's medieval paintings were recovered. The medieval murals from ca. 1440 are attributed to
Albertus Pictor
Albertus Pictor (English, "Albert the Painter"; Immenhusen, c. 1440 – c. 1507), also called Albert Pictor, Albert Målare and Albrekt Pärlstickare (Swedish), is the most famous late medieval Swedish painter, known for his wallpaintings survivi ...
.
The choir is dominated by the
altarpiece
An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter 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 or sculpture, ...
, sculpted in wood in 1666 by Hans Jerling.
[ The altarpiece frames two oil paintings with biblical motifs, and is crowned by a wood-sculptured Madonna from the late 16th century, while the altar is made of brick and covered by a limestone plate.][
]
Literary reference
Solna Church is mentioned in Carl Michael Bellman
Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet, and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as wel ...
's song "Haga" (Fredmans Sånger No. 64).
Other round churches
Other Swedish round churches are Bromma Church
Bromma Church is a round church in the borough Bromma in Stockholm, Sweden. It is the parish church of Bromma Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm. The oldest parts of the church were built in the late 12th century as a fortress church, and the ...
, Munsö Church, Voxtorp Church, Hagby Church, Valleberga Church, Skörstorp Church and Vårdsberg Church.
See also
* Ulriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace () is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the Royal National City Park in Solna Municipality, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called ''Jakobsdal'' for its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it ...
* List of churches in Stockholm
This is a list of churches in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The list does not include chapels or minor churches.
Churches in Stockholm County outside Stockholm municipality are listed in two separate lists: List of churches in Uppland and ...
References
{{Churches in Uppland
12th-century churches in Sweden
Church frescos in Sweden
Churches in Stockholm County
Fortified church buildings
Churches in the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden)
Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden
Solna Municipality