Royal Chapel, Baroque chapel in Gamla stan, Sweden
The Royal Chapel sits within Stockholm Palace as a baroque-style religious space with ornate architectural details throughout. Painted ceilings and decorated columns create a formal setting designed for worship and ceremonies.
The chapel opened on 8 December 1754, the same day as Stockholm Palace, consecrated by King Adolf Fredrik and Queen Lovisa Ulrika. Nicodemus Tessin the Younger planned it in the south wing; Carl Hårleman finished the interior after Tessin's death, and both Hårleman and sculptor Bouchardon died in 1753 before the consecration. Silver fittings and benches from the chapel in the old Tre Kronor palace, destroyed by fire in 1697, were partly kept.
The chapel is the church of the non-territorial Royal Court parish, whose roughly 300 members include the royal family, court staff and employees at Stockholm, Ulriksdal and Drottningholm palaces. It has hosted royal weddings, baptisms and funerals, such as Princess Madeleine's marriage to Christopher O'Neill on 8 June 2013 and Prince Carl Philip's to Sofia Hellqvist on 13 June 2015.
The chapel occupies the eastern half of the palace's south wing, two and a half storeys high, with its entrance from the south vault at Slottsbacken 1. Services are held every Sunday and holy day, so time a visit outside those hours. The Royal Parish is non-territorial, with some 300 members living around Stockholm, Solna and Lovön.
The chapel's silver and furnishings partly come from the old Tre Kronor palace chapel, which burned down in 1697. The Italian stucco artist Giuseppe Marchi worked on both chapels, and acanthus scrolls by him and Carlo Carove decorate the window walls.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,317 contributors worldwide.
