Karlstad Cathedral

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Karlstad Cathedral (Swedish: Karlstads domkyrka) is the main church in Karlstad, Sweden. It sits in the city center on Lagberget, on Tingvalla Island, and belongs to the Diocese of Karlstad in the Church of Sweden. A church has stood on this site since the 1300s. The original church burned down with almost all of Karlstad in 1616, and after rebuilding Karlstad became a cathedral in 1647 when Queen Christina created the diocese. That church burned again in 1719. A new cathedral was built on Lagberget from 1723 to 1730 under Superintendent Johannes Steuchius, who later became archbishop. The building is Baroque in style and was inaugurated on 13 July 1730 (2 July 1730 Old Style). In 1790, architect Erik Palmstedt redesigned the choir area with a new altar and pulpit. The roof and tower were destroyed in the great city fire of 2 July 1865, and the tower later received a neoclassical look from drawings by Albert Törnqvist. Interior work was completed by the late 1870s. The church was restored in 1915–1916, a large sacristy was added in 1956–1957, and further restorations took place in 1965–1967 and in 1998. The cathedral is still active today, part of the Church of Sweden; the current bishop is Sören Dalevi and the dean is Dan Fredriksson.