Fredrik Church, Baroque church in Stortorget square, Karlskrona, Sweden.
Fredrik Church is a baroque church on Stortorget in Karlskrona, designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. Its two towers, intended for spires but completed in 1758, flank the west front. The south tower houses a carillon of 35 bells installed in 1967 by Bergholtz Bellfoundry.
The foundation stone was laid on 9 September 1720 by Governor Salomon von Otter, replacing the temporary wooden Hedvig Eleonora Church. Limestone came from Öland and brick from Verkö; the church was consecrated in 1744 in the presence of Crown Prince Adolf Frederick and Princess Lovisa Ulrika, and named after Frederick I. A 1790 fire destroyed the roof and bell beams, but the large bell survived thanks to wood shavings left by organ builders.
The church is named after King Frederick I, though Crown Prince Adolf Frederick attended its 1744 consecration; two memorial plaques to his later coronation are kept inside. The 2015–2018 renovation, led by Ole Drachmann, replaced fixed pews with movable chairs by Åke Axelsson and laid an oak floor. Six niches now serve as half-open spaces for conversation, children's altar and exhibitions.
The church stands on Stortorget in central Karlskrona, within the World Heritage Site. The carillon in the south tower chimes three times a day. Entry is from the square; the interior is level, with movable chairs designed by Åke Axelsson replacing the old pews.
The 1764 organ by Lars Wahlberg, with 29 stops, two manuals and a pedal, was replaced in 1905 by an Åkerman & Lund instrument from Stockholm, rebuilt in 1982–87 by Grönlunds. The south tower's carillon of 35 bells, cast in 1967 by Bergholtz in Sigtuna, chimes three times a day.
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