Linköping's green-roofed cathedral - 800 years old and counting

Linköping Cathedral, an active Lutheran church and the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Linköping, has stood on its site since the 11th century. The current building, approximately 800 years old, was constructed following the coronation of King Valdemar in 1251. The wooden church that preceded it was replaced by a stone building around 1120. The present altarpiece is dated to the same period. By around 1230, a larger church was needed, and the existing building was extended to the east, with the construction of a new choir and transept.

The current tower was rebuilt in 1747, then again in 1877, and finally in 1886 by Helgo Zettervall. The roof was restored to its 17th-century shape in 1967, but it is now covered in a green patina due to copper corrosion. The tower stands 107 metres high. The roof bosses in the nave vaults, completed in 1320, are believed to be the work of the same sculptor as the arcades. The tympanum of the south portal was decorated with relief scenes from the Nativity and the Passion in 1330, but the altarpiece originally made for a church in the Netherlands found its way to Linköping in the 16th century.

Linköping Cathedral is a place of worship, a place of quiet reflection, and a place to visit the deceased. But look up: that’s where the stories are.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons