soon, the commission expanded to a complete overhaul of the exterior and a new tower spire. 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. Particularly Hårleman seems to have viewed the issue from the standpoint that the church should be stylistically incorporated in the palace surroundings. The two architects accused each other's designs for the church spire to have technical problems. In the end, Carlberg's fourth proposal for a new spire, which was a compromise between his own and Hårleman's ideas, was adopted and Carlberg also designed the other changes to the facade. This transformation of the exterior of the church from a Gothic to a Baroque building was carried out between 1736 and 1745. The exterior seen today is still largely the result of Carlberg's work. Further changes were made later in the same century, when architect Erik Palmstedt in 1777 redesigned the south side of the church courtyard in connection with the building of the stock exchange building on Stortorget. At the same time, he also designed the stairwell attached to the south side of the tower, at the west end of the church; the stairwell was finished in 1778. These and some other additions, later demolished, further underlined the Classical appearance of the church and its surroundings, in contrast to its medieval roots. King Gustav III of Sweden wanted to go even further, demolish the entire church and replace it with a new church inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Later history The windows were equipped with new, wrought-iron tracery in Neo-Gothic style in the 1860s. Some further changes, not least in order to increase the fire safety of the church, were carried out during the late 19th century. A more thorough renovation was done in 1903–1909 under the guidance of architect Ernst Stenhammar. Among other things, the whitewash which had covered the brick pillars and walls was removed, and the interior has been characterised by the exposed brick since then. It was done as an attempt to recreate a more "medieval" interior, but in fact the interior had probably always been whitewashed. Another comprehensive renovation was carried out 1952–54. The church was raised to the status of cathedral for the newly formed