Mariestad's Cathedral

A grand cathedral in the city center

Mariestad was founded in 1583 by Gustav Vasa's son Duke Karl (later, king Karl IX). Ten years later, year 1593, the work of building the cathedral began. There were religious strife between Duke Karl and his brother Johan, and the cathedral can be viewed as a symbol for the protestant reformation and the battle between catholicism and protestantism which raged in the late 1500's.