Högalid Church, Brick church in Södermalm, Sweden.
Högalid Church is a dark red brick church in National Romantic style, oriented east-west on Högalidsberget in Södermalm, Stockholm. Its narrower, flat-ended chancel is flanked by two towers, both 84 meters high, with green copper domes and spires. The west facade has three main portals with sculpted granite surrounds and a tall, narrow window with stained glass by Oscar Brandtberg. The interior has a high cross-vaulted nave with internal buttresses forming side passages.
In 1905 Maria Magdalena parish received a plot on northern Högalidsberget for a new church. A 1911 competition among three invited architects was won by Ivar Tengbom's long-church proposal, endorsed by Carl Westman; Tengbom received the commission in May 1913. The foundation stone was laid on 27 May 1917, and Nathan Söderblom inaugurated the church on 10 June 1923. Högalid parish was formed on 1 May 1925.
The two towers were named on a suggestion by Archbishop Nathan Söderblom: the northern after the missionary Ansgar, the southern after the reformer Olaus Petri. Their initials, A and O, are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The northern tower is crowned by a church cock, which won the 1995 Årets Kyrktupp award.
The church stands at the top of Högalidsparken, reached on foot by Högalids Kyrkväg, which climbs the hill. The main entrances are the three west portals with granite surrounds, leading into a wooden-roofed porch. Inside, low side aisles run along the nave behind the internal buttresses.
The dark red bricks were deliberately chosen to match those of Stockholm City Hall across the waterway. This subtle architectural connection creates visual harmony between two important landmarks on opposite sides of Riddarfjärden.
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