Solna Church ( sv, Solna kyrka) is a so-called
round church in
Solna Municipality
Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of t ...
near
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 ...
,
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 ...
. 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
Ålkistan (Swedish language, Swedish: "T ...
and Ulvsundasjön, at the southern end of the cemetery
Norra begravningsplatsen. 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,
nave,
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 ...
, 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 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 (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") 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, whi ...
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, 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, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of
Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie. In 1674 the western portal was added, a sculptured portal originally constructed for
Karlberg Palace 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 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 ...
, 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's song "Haga" (Fredmans Sånger No. 64).
Other round churches
Other Swedish round churches are Bromma Church, Munsö Church
Munsö Church ( sv, Munsö kyrka) is a medieval Lutheran church in the Diocese of Stockholm (Church of Sweden), Diocese of Stockholm. Its site, Munsö, is a village and formerly an island in Ekerö Municipality, Sweden. Because of post-glacial rebo ...
, Voxtorp Church, Hagby Church, Valleberga Church
Valleberga Church is a church in the village of Valleberga, Sweden. It is situated is about 15 miles east of Ystad in Skåne County. It is in the parish of Löderup of the Diocese of Lund.
History
It was built of limestone in the middle o ...
, Skörstorp Church
Skörstorp Church ( sv, Skörstorps kyrka) is a medieval round church in Västra Götaland County in Sweden. It belongs to the Diocese of Skara.
Description
The church was built in the middle of the 12th century, and is the only remaining medieval ...
and Vårdsberg Church.
See also
* Ulriksdal Palace
* List of churches in Stockholm
References
{{Churches in Uppland
12th-century churches in Sweden
Church frescos in Sweden
Buildings and structures 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