The origin of the Saint James’s Church dates back to a chapel belonging to the Solna parish and at the time built on the outskirts of the parish. It is first mentioned in 1311. The present church, originally founded in the 16th century, took a long time to complete. As a consequence it includes a wide range of architectonic styles, such as Late Gothic,Renaissance and Baroque, the design of architects: Willem Boy (1580-1593), Hans Ferster (1635-1643), Göran Joshuae Adelcrantz and Carl Hårleman (1723-1735), Carl Möller and Agi Lindegren (1893-94).
The church is dedicated to apostle Saint James the Greater, patron saint of travellers. It is often mistakenly called St Jacob’s. The confusion arises because Swedish, like many other languages, uses the same name for both James and Jacob.