Engelbrecht Church, Art Nouveau parish church in Östermalm, Sweden
Engelbrekt Church is a red-brown patterned brick church with a Greek-cross plan, its 32-metre nave the highest in Scandinavia, seating 1,400. A square tower with a green copper spire and clock faces stands asymmetrically between the south and west arms. Three arched doorways at the base are reached by a broad flight of steps.
A 1905-06 competition for a new parish church drew 22 entries; Lars Israel Wahlman won in May 1906 with the proposal "En blomma med kvist". The foundation stone was laid on 14 May 1910 with Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Prime Minister Arvid Lindman present. After four years of building, vicar Axel Landquist inaugurated the church on 25 January 1914, with King Gustaf V among the guests.
The church is named after Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, a 15th-century Swedish rebel leader and national hero, not a saint. Inside, works by several artists are on view: Olle Hjortzberg painted the chancel, Tore Strindberg made stucco reliefs, Filip Månsson the mural paintings, and Olga Lanner designed the altarpiece and four nine-armed wrought-iron floor candelabra.
The church stands on the former Kvarnberget hill, and the rock was left largely intact, so the main entrance is reached by a broad flight of steps up to the three arched doorways. The interior is a Greek cross with short, wide arms, giving a clear view of the altar and pulpit from most of the 1,400 seats. A chapel on the south side serves smaller services.
The tower stands in the angle between the south and west cross arms, not on the main axis, and reaches 65 metres from the upper plateau — 99 metres above Stockholm's old zero level at the lock. Its octagonal spire is clad in copper.
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