My first visit was to the beautiful church of Ritterholm, which is
used more for a cemetery and an armory than for a place of worship.
The vaults serve as burial-places for the kings, and their monuments
are erected in the side-chapels. On each side of the nave of the
church are placed effigies of armed knights on horseback, whose
armour belonged to the former kings of Sweden. The walls and angles
of the church are profusely decorated with flags and standards, said
to number five thousand. In addition to this, the keys of conquered
towns and fortresses hang along the side-walls, and drums are piled
upon the floor; trophies taken from different nations with which
Sweden has been at war.
Besides these curiosities, several coats of armour and garments of
Swedish regents are displayed behind glass-cases in the side-
chapels. Among them, the dress which Charles XII. wore on the day
of his death, and his hat perforated by a ball, interested me most.
His riding-boots stand on the ground beside it. The modern dress
and hat, embroidered with gold and ornamented with feathers, of the
last king, the founder of the new dynasty, is not less interesting,
partly perhaps from the great contrast.
The church of St. Nicholas stands on the same side of the canal, and
is one of the finest Protestant churches I had seen; it is very
evident that it was built in Catholic times, and that its former
decorations have been allowed to remain. It contains several large
and small oil-paintings, some ancient and some modern monuments, and
a profusion of gilding. The organ is fine and large; flanking the
entrance of the church are beautiful reliefs, hewn in stone; and
above it, carved in wood, a statue of the archangel Michael, larger
than life, sitting on horseback on a bridge, in the act of killing
the dragon.
Near the church is situated the royal palace, which needs a more
fluent pen than mine to describe it. It would fill a volume were I
to enumerate and describe the treasures, curiosities, and beauties
of its construction, or its interior arrangement; I can only say
that I never saw any thing to equal it, except the royal palace of
Naples. Such an edifice is the more surprising in the north, and in
a country which has never been overstocked with wealth.
The church of Shifferholm is remarkable only for its position and
its temple-like form; it stands on the ledge of a rock facing the,
royal palace, on the opposite shore of the same indentation of the
Baltic. A long bridge of boats leads from the one to the other.
The church of St. Catharine is large and beautiful. In an outer
angle of the church is shewn the stone on which one of the brothers
Sturre was beheaded.
