St. John’s Cemetery on Norrmalm in central Stockholm has had extensive roadblocks for a few days now. At the parish website states that unless the parish receives emergency financial assistance, all that remains is to request a demolition permit for security reasons.
Is it that bad?
– Yes, we must ensure that people are not harmed, says Hans von Schreeb, chairman of John’s parish church council.
He says they had no other choice because the six-tonne counterweight, which balances the 70-meter-high tower and the cross that sits on the spire itself, is rust-infested. The parish has made the decision to take down parts of the construction and replace damaged parts with new ones. The church tower, which has been one of Stockholm’s silhouettes since 1890, will be dismantled, but not until the financing is complete and that is where it stands – without money and schedule.
The need for renovation is in the order of a quarter of a billion kronor. The tower alone would cost around SEK 43 million and therefore the parish has applied for emergency financial help from both the church board, which is the church council’s preparatory and executive body, and the Stockholm diocese.
The question is whether John’s congregation can count on help from the diocese. Andreas Holmberg, bishop of the diocese of Stockholm, refers to the fact that each parish is responsible for its properties and their maintenance.
The diocese has the opportunity to contribute with so-called church antiquarian compensation in connection with the renovation of around 24 million annually. In addition, there is a so-called intra-church grant of 4 million per year to distribute, but it is 61 parishes in the diocese fighting for this money. In Johannesfallet, the barriers cannot be lifted until the tower has been repaired.
Johannes’ church was closed at the end of 2020 and the other day the barrier was extended to cover most of the cemetery, including the slope towards Döbelnsgatan where both the memorial grove and the ash burial grove are located. This means that all those who have buried their relatives here cannot visit the graves. Several concerned Johannes residents have contacted the parish and the bishop regarding this. One of them is 73-year-old Anne-Marie Westöö, who this spring had her 42-year-old son buried in the ash grove, in the same grave that her husband has been in for three years. She writes:
“A great consolation for me has been to go to my husband and Petter’s grave every Thursday and sit there for a while. To my great dismay, I have now seen and read that the entire cemetery, including the ash grove, is being surrounded by a high fence (with barbed wire as well). It can not be true. The cemetery is an oasis for us seniors and for us who have close relatives buried there a place to go and mourn in peace. When I was there today, I met a woman who also had her husband buried there and she became completely desperate when I told her what was happening. “
Hans von Schreeb regrets this and says that he is happy that the diocesan board has decided to allocate 19 million to Johannes’ tower renovation, but it is only 2024-2025 and thus does not cover even half of the need.
These days, the congregation sends a letter to the church board with “request for help”. The last time the parish contacted the church board, they received the answer that the solution to the problem is not something for the Church of Sweden at the national level. Instead, the congregation was urged to “seize the opportunity for advice, support and assistance in administrative matters from the diocese.”
“The church already has that. What the parish needs is urgent concrete financial support “, writes Johannes parish where they again appeal for help from the church board.
When do you expect to be able to lift the barriers and open St. John’s Church?
– I have not given up hope of the first Advent this year, says Hans von Schreeb.
Footnote: The author of this article has several close relatives buried in the cemetery.