Christian's Church, Copenhagen
Encyclopedia
Christian's Church is a magnificent Rococo church in the Christianshavn
district of Copenhagen
, Denmark
. Designed by Nicolai Eigtved
, it was built 1754–59.
The church was originally built by the German community as a church for the large German community at Christianshavn and served this purpose until the end of the 19th century. Today it is a regular parish church
for Christian's Parish within the Danish National Church. Its name is a reference to King Christian IV
. who founded the Christianshavn district in 1611.
founded Christianshavn in 1617 as a town specially for merchants, a large community of German tradrers and craftsmen settled there. Even though Christianshavn had been incorporated into Copenhagen prior to 1674, they did not attend St. Peter's Church
like the rest of the city's German community but preferred to use the local Church of Our Saviour. This lasted until they finally asked King Christian VI
for permission to build their own church. The King approved the plans and contributed with a lot, a former saltern
, located at the end of Strandgade in the in the southern part of the neighbourhood. He also granted permission for a lottery
to be held to cover the project's financing with the result that the finished church used to be colloquially known as the Lottery Church.
Nicolai Eigtved
, the king's preferred architect at the time, was xgarged with the design of the new church but died in 1754, before construction started. Instead jis son-in-law, Royal Master Builder Georg David Anthon
, was entrusted with supervising the actual construction of the church which was completed in 1759. Anthon also designed the spire which is an addition from 1769.
In 1901 the name of the church was changed to the current Christian's Church to complement and avoit confusion with Frederik's Church
in Frederiksstaden
in the other side of the harbour, as well as to conmemorate Christian IV, the founder of the Christianshavn area.
Since 1991 it has been a regular parish church
for Christian's Parish which includes part of Christianshavn as well as Slotsholmen
.
layout, the nave occupying the space between the shorter rather than the longer sides of the rectangle, giving it exceptional width.
Standing on a granite plinth, the church is a yellow brick (Flensborg sten) building with sandstone
finishing for the portal and tower. Ionic
pilaster
s decorate the portal and the round-arched
windows are tall and slender. The tower stands 70 metres high. Designed by Eigtved's son-in-law D. G. Anthon, the spire
was added in 1769.
The tower is positioned at the centre of the northern side which serves as the main facade. It stands 70 metres high.
. In addition to the benches on either side of the nave, three tiers of galleries complete with boxes rise the full height of the building on the northern, western and southern sides. They are all arranged to provide the congregation with an excellent view of the podium on the eastern side which is reminiscent of a stage. It is dominated by the tall slender altarpiece which consists not only of the altar table itself but also of the pulpit above it and the organ at the very top. The ornate entrance, topped by the royal box, is opposite the altar and under the tower on the western side.
The organ stands in the integrated altarpiece above a clock face in the medieval tradition. The original instrument was built in 1759 by the leading authority of the day, Hartvig Jochum Müller. In 1917, I. Starup built a new pneumatic instrument on Müllers facade, and in 1976 the church acquired today's organ designed by P.-G. Andersen.
is located there, alongside the graves of his wife and son. The rock'n'roll guitarist Link Wray
was buried there in 2005.
Christianshavn
Christianshavn is an artificial island neighbourhood located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in the early 17th century by Christian IV as part of his extension of the fortifications of Copenhagen. Originally it was laid out as an independent privileged merchant's town with inspiration from...
district of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Designed by Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved, , Danish architect, introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo style in Danish architecture during the 1730s-1740s. He designed and built some of the most prominent buildings of his time, a number of which still stand to this day...
, it was built 1754–59.
The church was originally built by the German community as a church for the large German community at Christianshavn and served this purpose until the end of the 19th century. Today it is a regular parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
for Christian's Parish within the Danish National Church. Its name is a reference to King Christian IV
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
. who founded the Christianshavn district in 1611.
Origins
After Christian IVChristian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
founded Christianshavn in 1617 as a town specially for merchants, a large community of German tradrers and craftsmen settled there. Even though Christianshavn had been incorporated into Copenhagen prior to 1674, they did not attend St. Peter's Church
St. Peter's Church, Copenhagen
St. Peter's Church is the parish church of the German-speaking community in Copenhagen, Denmark. Built as a single-nave church in the mid-15th century, it is the oldest building in central Copenhagen. It is also notable for its extensive complex of sepulchral chapels.-History:St...
like the rest of the city's German community but preferred to use the local Church of Our Saviour. This lasted until they finally asked King Christian VI
Christian VI of Denmark
Christian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746.He was the son of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. He married Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and fathered Frederick V.-The reign and personality of Christian VI:To posterity Christian...
for permission to build their own church. The King approved the plans and contributed with a lot, a former saltern
Saltern
Saltern is a word with a number of differing meanings. In English archaeology, a saltern is an area used for salt making, especially in the East Anglian fenlands....
, located at the end of Strandgade in the in the southern part of the neighbourhood. He also granted permission for a lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
to be held to cover the project's financing with the result that the finished church used to be colloquially known as the Lottery Church.
Construction phase
In return for his approaval and donation of the lot, the king laid down very specific guidelines for the placement and design of the church building.Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved, , Danish architect, introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo style in Danish architecture during the 1730s-1740s. He designed and built some of the most prominent buildings of his time, a number of which still stand to this day...
, the king's preferred architect at the time, was xgarged with the design of the new church but died in 1754, before construction started. Instead jis son-in-law, Royal Master Builder Georg David Anthon
Georg David Anthon
-External links:*...
, was entrusted with supervising the actual construction of the church which was completed in 1759. Anthon also designed the spire which is an addition from 1769.
Time as church
The church originally called Frederik's German Church (Danish: Frederiks Tyske Kirke), and served its original purpose as a church for the German congregation until it was dissolved in 1886.In 1901 the name of the church was changed to the current Christian's Church to complement and avoit confusion with Frederik's Church
Frederik's Church
Frederick's Church , popularly known as The Marble Church is a church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of Amalienborg Palace....
in Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century and it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe....
in the other side of the harbour, as well as to conmemorate Christian IV, the founder of the Christianshavn area.
Since 1991 it has been a regular parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
for Christian's Parish which includes part of Christianshavn as well as Slotsholmen
Slotsholmen
Slotsholmen is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. Bishop Absalon constructed the city's first castle on the island in 1166-67 at the site where Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament lies today...
.
Architecture
The church has a rectangularRectangle
In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is any quadrilateral with four right angles. The term "oblong" is occasionally used to refer to a non-square rectangle...
layout, the nave occupying the space between the shorter rather than the longer sides of the rectangle, giving it exceptional width.
Standing on a granite plinth, the church is a yellow brick (Flensborg sten) building with sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
finishing for the portal and tower. Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s decorate the portal and the round-arched
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
windows are tall and slender. The tower stands 70 metres high. Designed by Eigtved's son-in-law D. G. Anthon, the spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
was added in 1769.
The tower is positioned at the centre of the northern side which serves as the main facade. It stands 70 metres high.
Interior
The unusual interior of Christian's Church is reminiscent of a theatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. In addition to the benches on either side of the nave, three tiers of galleries complete with boxes rise the full height of the building on the northern, western and southern sides. They are all arranged to provide the congregation with an excellent view of the podium on the eastern side which is reminiscent of a stage. It is dominated by the tall slender altarpiece which consists not only of the altar table itself but also of the pulpit above it and the organ at the very top. The ornate entrance, topped by the royal box, is opposite the altar and under the tower on the western side.
The organ stands in the integrated altarpiece above a clock face in the medieval tradition. The original instrument was built in 1759 by the leading authority of the day, Hartvig Jochum Müller. In 1917, I. Starup built a new pneumatic instrument on Müllers facade, and in 1976 the church acquired today's organ designed by P.-G. Andersen.
The crypt
The church also has a large crypt covering the full area of the nave above. Divided into 48 burial chapels, it has been used for burials ever since the church's consecration in 1759 and is still in use today. The grave of Danish historian Peter Frederik SuhmPeter Frederik Suhm
Peter Frederik Suhm , was a Danish-Norwegian historian and Councillor of State.Suhm studied at the University of Copenhagen in 1746-1751, and one of his teacher was Ludvig Holberg...
is located there, alongside the graves of his wife and son. The rock'n'roll guitarist Link Wray
Link Wray
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr was an American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer....
was buried there in 2005.