Allhelgonakyrkan
A Wooden Sanctuary on Södermalm
Allhelgonakyrkan is a wooden church on Södermalm, inaugurated in 1918. Inspired by Sweden’s 18th-century country churches, it has a warm painted timber interior and one of Stockholm’s best-attended weekly masses.
🕊 Allhelgonakyrkan—A Wooden Sanctuary on Södermalm
Allhelgonakyrkan is one of Stockholm’s most distinctive small churches—a wooden sanctuary by the park Helgalunden on southern Södermalm, a short walk from Skanstull. It was inaugurated in 1918, at a time when Stockholm’s growing working-class districts on Södermalm needed intimate, accessible places of worship. Today it belongs to Katarina Parish.
🌿 A Church Built by Its Neighbours
Allhelgonakyrkan did not begin as a parish project. The initiative came from the priest Viktor Södergren and a society for pastoral care within the Church of Sweden, and much of the money was collected from the people living in the surrounding blocks. Archbishop Nathan Söderblom inaugurated the church in 1918.
For decades the church stood outside the ordinary parish system. In 1958 it was handed over to a friends’ association, Allhelgonakyrkans Vänner, and in 1972 it became part of Katarina Parish, which still runs it.
🪵 Architecture & Atmosphere
Unlike the monumental stone churches of the inner city, Allhelgonakyrkan was designed as a warm, human-scaled church. The architect Joel Norborg took his inspiration from the Swedish country churches of the 1700s: a timber building with a steep roof and simple detailing that feels closer to a village than to a capital city.
Inside, the walls and ceiling were painted by the artist Filip Månsson, and the wooden furnishings follow the same modest style—an octagonal pulpit and a baptismal font with carved decoration around the bowl. The altarpiece is later, made by Erik Abrahamsson in 1960. The church has around 280 seats, small enough that every service feels like a gathering rather than an audience.
Allhelgonakyrkan is one of Stockholm’s few wooden churches. Another example is the Sabbatsberg Church on Norrmalm—a wooden parish church that reflects a different era and urban setting. Together, they show that timber has remained a meaningful part of Stockholm’s sacred architecture, next to the brick and stone of the great city churches.
🎼 The Allhelgona Mass & Parish Life
Since 1997 the church has been known for the Allhelgona Mass (AllhelgonaMässan), held on Sundays and Wednesdays. It regularly draws 200–400 people—remarkable for a church of this size—and much of its activity has grown from the congregation’s own initiatives.
On weekdays the church also opens for lunch services and morning prayers, often with a simple meal afterwards. Baptisms, weddings and funerals are held here as well, and its location near Skanstull makes it a natural gathering point in the neighbourhood.
📍 Visiting Allhelgonakyrkan
Allhelgonakyrkan is located on Södermalm, by Helgalunden and a few minutes on foot from Skanstull metro station. The church is usually open for services and parish activities; check Katarina Parish’s calendar before you go, as hours vary. The green hillside of Vitabergsparken is a short walk away.
⛪ Other Churches on Södermalm
Allhelgonakyrkan is the smallest of Södermalm’s churches. If you want to see more, several of Stockholm’s most striking churches are within walking distance:
- Katarina Church – Allhelgonakyrkan’s own parish church, a Baroque landmark near Slussen with a great dome. It has been rebuilt twice after devastating fires, most recently after the fire of 1990.
- Sofia Church – a National Romantic church from 1906, high on the Vita Bergen hill above Vitabergsparken, with wide views over the district.
- Maria Magdalena Church – the oldest church on Södermalm, close to Slussen. The singer and poet Evert Taube is buried in its churchyard.
- Högalid Church – completed in 1923 to designs by Ivar Tengbom; its twin towers are a landmark of western Södermalm.
Together they show the full range of church architecture on the island—from Baroque domes to National Romantic towers and a small wooden church built by its neighbours. For all of Stockholm’s historic churches, area by area, see our guide to historic churches in Stockholm.
Allhelgonakyrkan is a reminder that Stockholm’s sacred architecture is not only monumental—it is also intimate, local and deeply connected to the everyday life of the city.
