Holy Cross Chapel, Chapel in Skogskyrkogården, Stockholm, Sweden.
Heliga Korsets kapell is the largest of the three chapels in Gunnar Asplund's 1935–1940 crematorium complex at Skogskyrkogården, built together with the open Monument Hall. Its facades are clad in yellow travertine with copper details, and a glass wall decorated with bronze reliefs by Bror Hjorth separates it from the hall.
The 1914 competition programme for Skogskyrkogården already called for a main chapel with a crematorium. After two decades of joint proposals by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, the cemetery board decided in 1934 to build it, and in 1935 the commission went to Asplund alone. The Holy Cross Chapel was consecrated on 21 June 1940 by Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf; Asplund died that October and was cremated here.
The chapel's rear wall painting is by Sven Erixson, and the glass wall separating it from the Monument Hall carries bronze reliefs by Bror Hjorth. In the hall stands John Lundqvist's Resurrection Monument, figures reaching upward beneath the light opening. Each column holds an upward copper light fixture designed by Asplund.
The chapels and Monument Hall stand along a sloping walkway on the western side of Skogskyrkogården, reached by metro to Skogskyrkogården station. The old crematorium in Asplund's complex is no longer in use; a new crematorium by Johan Celsing opened in 2013. The buildings remain active ceremonial spaces, so visitors should check opening times before setting out.
Gunnar Asplund died in October 1940, months after the complex opened, and was cremated here. His grave, number 1B, lies just outside the Chapel of Faith beside the Larsson family grave, marked by a simple epitaph reading "Hans verk lever" (his work lives).
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,158 contributors worldwide.