Västerås Cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of Västerås, is a five-aisled, hall church built in the Scandinavian Brick Gothic style. Its most striking feature is the Baroque cask, added in 1694, that covers the entire roof. Originally a Romanesque basilica, the cathedral has undergone extensions since the 1460s. The present Baroque cask, designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, is built of oak, without iron beams or nails, and lined with copper.
The cathedral's organ, built by Marcussen & Sön in 1940, is an electropneumatic organ. It has been enlarged a number of times since, including in 1998 and 2009, but its foundation is still the organ of 1898. Today, it contains 65 stops over four manuals and pedals. King Eric XIV, who was drowned in 1568, lies in the cathedral, along with Johannes Rudbeckius, who was bishop at Västerås from 1619 until his death. The Baroque cask, a unique part of the cathedral’s history, has survived the ages, but the story behind its addition was not recorded until the 18th century.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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