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 The
remains of Erik the Holy, patron saint of Sweden, are preserved here
in St. Erik's Shrine. He was killed in 1160 on the site where the
Cathedral later was to be built. According to legend, he was a pious
king, devoted to the expansion and growth of Christianity. Many
miracles were associated with his death and his grave, and he was
thus canonized and enshrined. The shrine was moved here from Old
Uppsala church as soon as the Cathedral's construction had begun.
Johan III confiscated the shrine and melted it down, but later in
1580 he presented the Cathedral with a new shrine of gold-plated
silver, which remains in the chapel today. The shrine still contains
King Erik's skeleton as well as his royal crown. Johan III also
donated the large crown, which hangs over the shrine.
Chief
Judge Birger Persson and his wife Ingeborg named the chapel after
the Finsta estate in Uppland, which they ran. They were laid to rest
under the black marble slab in 1328. One of their daughters was
Birgitta the Holy. The oldest known picture of her can be seen on
the lower right of the gravestone. A relic of St. Birgitta (a gift
from the Birgitta Sisters in Rome) is preserved in the small
gold-plated shrine of 1990.
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