The Church of Saint Clare, or Klara Church, is a church in central Stockholm located on Klara Västra Kyrkogata in the Klara area of lower Norrmalm. A church has been at this site since the 1280s, though the current buildings date from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. Since 1989, the Swedish Evangelical Mission has been responsible for the church's activities.
The Convent and Church of St. Clare was founded on the site in the 1280s. In 1527, King Gustav Vasa had the church and convent torn down. Construction of the current church began in 1577 and was finished in 1590 under Johan III. Two master-builders and architects from the Netherlands, Henrik van Huwen and Willem Boy, were tasked with its construction.
The graveyard, which is now almost surrounded by modern buildings, was started in the 17th century. The composer Carl Michael Bellman was buried here in 1795. The church tower was built as part of restoration work in the 1880s and stands 116 metres tall. The church also contains a 35-bell carillon cast by the Bergholtz Bellfoundry in 1965.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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