Inside, Storkyrkan still maintains much of its late medieval appearance in the form of a hall church with a vaulted ceiling supported by brick pillars.

Storkyrkan was for a long time the only parish church of Stockholm, and from an early date it was connected with the Swedish royal family.

Military victories as well as national tragedies have been commemorated in Storkyrkan, and it is still used for funerals of public figures such as the writers Astrid Lindgren and Sara Danius.

The church contains several important works of art as well as elaborate furnishings, among these a late medieval sculpture of Saint George and the Dragon and Vädersolstavlan, a painting which shows one of the earliest images of Stockholm.

It lies at the highest point of Gamla stan, wedged between the Stock Exchange Building and Stockholm Palace.

The church, together with the palace, Stortorget and the first town hall of Stockholm (located on the site of the present stock exchange building), formed the heart of the earliest urban development.

[9] Storkyrkan is surrounded on three sides by streets (Trångsund to the west, Storkyrkobrinken and Högvaktsterrassen to the north and Slottsbacken to the east).

[3] In the pavement next to the east facade there are also lines which mark the former extent of a church choir, demolished during the reign of King Gustav Vasa.

Several churches in the Baltic region from the 13th century are dedicated to Saint Nicholas, especially in cities where the Hanseatic League had a presence, as was the case in Stockholm.

There are few written sources, and a lack of ornaments has made it difficult to draw any conclusions about the age of the different parts on stylistic grounds.

By the end of the Middle Ages, Storkyrkan contained more than 30 chapels or specifically dedicated altarpieces, an amount only comparable with the cathedrals of medieval Sweden.

[25] Between 1474 and 1496, a major reconstruction of the church was carried out which then incorporated these chapels into a single, unified space and installed new vaults, creating a uniformly high ceiling.

Adam van Düren was responsible for these works, and he also made an allegorical sculpture adorning the base of one of the pillars of the church.

[29] Some further changes to the pillars, vaults and walls of the church were made during the reign of King John III in order to further harmonise the interior space.

Both Carlberg and Carl Hårleman, who had succeeded Nicodemus Tessin the Younger as architect of the Royal Palace, instantly produced numerous proposals for a new tower spire, further indicating that the idea of modernising the exterior had been entertained for some time.

The growing wealth and influence of Stockholm during the Middle Ages, and the church's vicinity to the Royal Palace, attracted the attention of both the Archbishop of Uppsala and the monarchs of Sweden.

[53] Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg was also crowned as Queen of Sweden in Storkyrkan, following her marriage to King Gustavus Adolphus in 1620.

[60] The wedding between the future King Oscar I and Josephine of Leuchtenberg took place in Storkyrkan in 1823, and several other members of the royal family were married in the church during the 19th and 20th centuries.

[64][65] When MS Estonia sank in 1994 with the loss of many Swedish lives, a memorial service, attended by the royal family and the Prime Minister of Sweden, was held in Storkyrkan.

[75] Brick vaults supported by pillars and richly articulated compound piers cover the entire interior.

[80] The choir floor is three steps higher than the rest of the church and limited by wrought iron fences to the north and south.

[86] The relief depicting the Crucifixion is the largest, and its composition may have been inspired by the painting Christ on the Cross by Peter Paul Rubens from 1620.

[90] North of the choir stands a large, late medieval equestrian statue depicting the legend of Saint George and the Dragon.

[92] A subsidiary group shows the princess that the saint is rescuing from the dragon, accompanied by the symbolic Lamb of God.

[94] It was commissioned by regent Sten Sture the Elder as a funerary monument for him and his wife, after his victory over Danish troops at the Battle of Brunkeberg in 1471.

[96] Saint George and the Dragon does not carry any signature, but is widely attributed to Bernt Notke, both on stylistic grounds and by deduction from archival sources.

[97][98] The sculpture has been interpreted, and was probably intended, as not only a religious work of art, but also as a political as well as a personal monument to Sten Sture and his victory over the Danish army.

[100][102] A rood cross made c. 1400 previously belonged to Storkyrkan but is today on display at the Museum of Medieval Stockholm.

[100] In 1564, the helmet and spurs of Saint Olaf, the oldest preserved war trophies taken by Swedish troops, were put on display in Storkyrkan.

[105] The oldest known depiction of Stockholm in colour is the so-called Vädersolstavlan (The sun dog painting), which was donated to the church in 1535 by Olaus Magnus.