Mariakyrkan/Mary's church

Sigtuna/Sweden

A brief description.

Sigtuna, Sweden’s oldest town in Sweden, is an attractive small town with picturesque wooden houses, winding lanes, gardens and attractive shops and cafés. A millennium ago, Sigtuna was the most important town in the country.
It was founded around 980 AD by Olof Skötkonung who built a royal hall in the middle of the town. The first Swedish coins, bearing the image of Sigtuna’s founder, were minted there. Around the year 1100, Sigtuna became the bishop’s seat when nearby Uppsala was still pagan.
The Dominicans came around 1225 in Sigtuna. They built a church in 1237, completed in 1250, and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin (Mariakyrkan).
The church was - as the first in Sweden – built in red bricks.
After the Reformation King Gustav Wasa I ordered to pull down the Dominican Priory and many churches to build two castles. The church of the Dominican priory was saved, and was meant to the used for Lutheran service.

Later the church became a fleche, which was removed in the 20th century. In the church a statue of Saint Dominic with the biretta of the master around 1420.

Sources: Internet and others.