Västerås Cathedral

Västerås Cathedral (Swedish: Västerås domkyrka) is the seat of the Diocese of Västerås in the Province of Västmanland, Sweden. The church building is a five-tiered cathedral, with copper-covered roof as well as a west tower with side extensions and an obelisk-shaped, copper-clad spire. It is built in the Scandinavian Brick Gothic style.

History

The present church was originally built as a three-storey Romanesque basilica in the 13th century and consecrated on 16 August 1271. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The cathedral has undergone numerous extensions since. The church was expanded eastward under Bishop Lydeke Abelsson in the 1460s. When a chapel in the southwestern corner of the church was added to 1517, the church reached its present size. The outer roof of copper was laid during the 17th century. The present Baroque spire from 1694 was designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (1654–1728). The spire is built of oak, without iron beams or nails, and lined with copper. During the 1500s, 1600s and 1700s, there were also many fixtures that changed the interior. The organ was built in 1940 by Marcussen & Sön and is an electropneumatic organ.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Västerås Cathedral" and modified on May 23, 2024 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.