St. Olof's Church Ruins

Sigtuna, Sweden

St. Olof's Church was originally built around the year 1100 and it consisted of a main tower, chancel and nave. It was later extended, but the construction was probably interrupted when archbishop’s seat was moved to Gamla Uppsala in the 12th century.

St. Olof's church has been influenced by the Nidaros Cathedral in Norway, while the small tapering windows have an Anglo-Saxon style. The church is dedicated to the Norwegian viking Olaf Tryggvasson, king between 995-1000.

It is not certain by whom the church was built. Most probably it was authored by the Benedictines or local trade guild. Archaelogical excavations have revealed remains under the church, which are thought to have belonged to an even older stone church. It may have been one of the first built in Sweden.

References:

Address

Olofsgatan 9, Sigtuna, Sweden

See all sites in Sigtuna

Details

Founded: ca.1100
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Sweden
Historical period: Consolidation (Sweden)

More Information

wadbring.com

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

St. Mary's Church (0,1 km)
Sigtuna Museum (0,4 km)

Storkyrkan (38 km)
Finnish Church (38,1 km)
Axel Oxenstierna Palace (38 km)
Gamla Stan (38,1 km)
Tessin Palace (38,1 km)
Royal Palace (38 km)
German Church (38,2 km)
The Royal Coin Cabinet (38,1 km)
Vasa Museum (38,5 km)

User Reviews

Lisbeth Stewart (3 months ago)
If the 3 church ruins in Sigtuna (& one site of former ruin) this is the most impressive. There is a translation plaque for a runestone at the fence beside the road, but I couldn’t find the actual stone with runes.

John Magno (3 months ago)
Pretty cool that it's still standing 900 years later! We love Ruins and architectural design! And, architectural wonders that have stood the test of time!

Ryker Barrowcliffe (6 months ago)
This was an amazing and iconic old church. Really lovely to see how things where built and how they still stand to this day.

Scott Wright (7 months ago)
If you like looking at ruins. This one's quite interesting. You get to walk inside and look around. The rocks are a little different that this one was built with. Just as old as any of the others around the country. But around this church is also some standing stones. There's another little church remains kind of kitty corner

Shri Gupta (13 months ago)
Looks fantastic despite being ruins

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright CONTROTONO

Historic Site of the week

Clementinum

The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.