Christ Church | |
---|---|
55°40′4″N12°32′42.3″E / 55.66778°N 12.545083°E | |
Location | 18 Enghave Plads Vesterbro, Copenhagen |
Country | Denmark |
Denomination | Church of Denmark |
History | |
Status | Church |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Valdemar Koch |
Architectural type | Church |
Groundbreaking | 1898 |
Completed | 1900 |
Specifications | |
Materials | Brick |
Administration | |
Archdiocese | Diocese of Copenhagen |
Christ Church (Danish: Kristkirken) is a Church of Denmark parish church situated on Enghave Plads in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was designed by Valdemar Koch, who also built several other churches in Copenhagen around that time. Completed in 1900, it was the first new church to be opened in the fast-growing neighbourhood to relieve the pressure on St. Mathew's. Its style is inspired by Italian Romanesque church architecture.
Consecrated in 1880, St. Mathew's was the first church to be built in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen. By the end of the century the population of the parish had reached 70,000 and the need for new churches had become evident. [1]
The Church of Christ on Enghave Plads was the second church to be built in the neighbourhood. It was the result of an initiative taken by Th. Løgstrup, a pastor based in Fredericia in Jutland. He had heard about the shortage of churches in the rapidly growing capital and conceived the idea that pastors from around the country should donate a church to the city. He began a collection in 1893 and by 1898 adequate funds had been raised for construction to start on a site provided free of charge by the city. The architect Valdemar Koch was commissioned to make the design and ground was broken on 29 March 1898. [2]
The new church was inaugurated on 6 May 1900 at a ceremony attended by, among others, King Christian IX and about 100 pastors from around the country. Construction costs amounted to DKK 142,000. As a result, the Parish of Christ was disjoined from that of St. Matthew's. The church was refurbished in 1963-64. [2]
The church is mainly built to a Neo-Romanesque design with inspiration from Italian Romanesque church architecture. Valdemar Koch claimed not to have relied on a specific church for inspiration but its design is quite similar to that of Spoleto Cathedral in Spoleto north of Rome. [2]
The church is oriented along a north–south axis. It is built in yellow brick but the south-facing main facade towards the street is clad in limestone with ornamental bands in green-glazed tiles. In front of the main entrance there is a loggia supported by six columns and a roof clad in copper. Also clad in limestone, the tower stands at the south-west corner of the building. Above the loggia, the facade features a series of round-arched windows, highest in the middle to reflect the shape of the triangular gable.
The gable is topped by a kneeling angel created by Thomas Bærentzen. He also designed the angels on the loggia, the two animal figures in the window group and the reliefs at the base of the tower depicting the Four Evangelists' symbols.
A short wall with two arched gates to the right of the church connects it to the neighbouring residential building. The first gate leads to the entrance to the church office along the side of the church while the second affords access to an interior courtyard space which surrounds the church on three sides and has facilities for the adjoining residential buildings. The right "representative" side of the church building is dressed while the left side stands in blank brick.
The church is a three-nave building. The narrow lateral naves are separated from the central nave by arcades with columns bearing galleries.
Raised three steps from the nave, the choir has a large round-arched, vaulted altar niche in its rear wall with a fresco by Johannes Kragh.
The altarpiece depicting the birth of Christ was painted by Axel Helsted in 1903.
The Romanesque granite font comes from Virring Church in Jutland. It was deposited in the garden of the rectory when the church got a new wooden font back in the 18th century. The bronze font basin was designed by Lorenz Frølich. [3]
The church is a parish church within the Church of Denmark.
The interior of the church is featured in several episodes of the second season of the Danish crime series Forbrydelsen under the fictional name "Skt. Simon".
Kongens Enghave, commonly known as Sydhavnen or the postal district of 2450 Copenhagen SV (southwest) is a district in southern Copenhagen. While its core is a largely pre-WWII former working class district, it also contains an upscale residential area along the harbour having been developed after 2000, scattered industrial areas, large parks such as Valbyparken and Sydhavnstippen, allotment gardens and parts of Vestre Kirkegård, the city's largest cemetery.
Valby ( ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is in the southwestern corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. This includes apartment blocks, terraced housing, areas with single-family houses and allotments, plus the remaining part of the old Valby village, around which the district has formed, intermingled with past and present industrial sites.
Istedgade is a 1-kilometer straight street in the district of Vesterbro in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It starts at Copenhagen Central Station and runs parallel to Vesterbrogade to Enghave Plads and Enghaveparken. From the station in the cheap hotel district, it runs through the porn, prostitution and drugs area to modern Vesterbro, where 1900s tenement style blocks have undergone significant modernisation. It is generally considered the heart of Vesterbro and was a main traffic artery until 2013 where the street had traffic reducing measures installed.
St. Bendt's Church is a church in Ringsted, Denmark, which was originally part of a Benedictine monastery that burnt down in the 18th century. Built in the Romanesque style, it is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia, dating back to about 1170 when it replaced a travertine church from about 1080. It is considered to be one of Denmark's architecturally finest churches. Furthermore, it is of special historical interest as it is the first Royal church in Denmark and it houses the tombs of many of Denmark's earlier monarchs and noblemen.
St. Mathew's Church is the oldest and largest church in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located at the corner of Mathæusgade and Valdemarsgade and was completed in 1880 to design by city architect Ludvig Fenger.
St. Paul's Church is a Lutheran church in central Copenhagen, Denmark, also colloquially known as Nyboder's Church due to its location in the middle of the Nyboder area. It was designed by Johannes Emil Gnudtzmann and constructed from 1872 to 1877.
Otto Valdemar Koch was a Danish architect and local politician. He designed a number of churches in Copenhagen.
St. Luke's Church is a Church of Denmark church located in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Completed in 1897 to the design of Valdemar Koch, who also built several other churches in Copenhagen around that time, it is the second oldest church in Frederiksberg.
St. James's Church in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, was the first church to be built in the district. It was designed by Ludvig Fenger in a Neo-Gothic style and built between 1876 and 1878.
Elijah's Church is a Church of Denmark parish church located on Vesterbros Torv in the heart of the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Completed in 1908 and designed by Martin Nyrop, who has designed Copenhagen City Hall, it was the largest church to be built by the Copenhagen Church Foundation.
St. Clement's Church is a parish church located in the village of Klemensker on the Danish island of Bornholm. Completed in 1882 in the Historicist style, it replaces an earlier Romanesque church from the 14th century or earlier. Today the church is noteworthy for works contributed by the Bornholm artist Paul Høm. A number of runestones have been found in the neighbourhood, two of which are now in the churchyard.
Faxe Church is a Danish church located in the Diocese of Roskilde, in Faxe, Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand. It was built at the end of the 15th century on a site where there had originally been a Romanesque church. A number of frescos, probably painted by artists from the Brarup workshop, have been uncovered on the cross vaults, most recently above the organ.
Zion's Church is a Lutheran church on Østerbrogade, just south of Svanemøllen station, in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was completed in 1896 to a design by Valdemar Koch, making it the second oldest church in Østerbro.
Enghave Plads is a central public square of the Vesterbro district in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located where Istedgade reaches Enghavevej, which separates the square from Enghave Park.
Åby Church is a church located in Åby Parish in Aarhus, Denmark. The church is situated in the neighbourhood Åbyhøj, west of Midtbyen. The church is today a parish church in the Church of Denmark, serving a parish population of 10.925 (2015). The Åby Church pastorate is shared with the Åbyhøj Church to the north.
A/S Københavns Telefonkiosker, often referred to as KTK, was an operator of staffed telephone kiosks in Copenhagen, Denmark. The first telephone kiosks were installed in 1896 to an Art Nouveau-influenced National Romantic design by Fritz Koch. A new and somewhat larger model was introduced in 1913 but Koch's original design was again used when a number of new telephone kiosks were installed in 1929.
Dannebrogsgade is a street in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Vesterbrogade in the north to Sønder Boulevard in the south and passes Istedgade on the way. It is closed to car traffic both at Otto Krabbes Plads and Litauens Plads. The buildings on the east side of the street at its northern end overlooks the Shooting Range Garden.
Valdemarsgade is a street in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Vesterbrogade in the north to Sønder Boulevard in the south, intersecting Istedgade and Dybølsgade on the way. St. Matthew's Church, Vesterbro's oldest and largest church, is located in the street. Most of the street is lined with five-storey, late 18th-century apartment blocks but its northern end stands out from the surrounding neighbourhood with its low, detached buildings with small front gardens. One of the properties, De Suhrske Friboliger, is listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places.
Enghave Plads station is an underground Copenhagen Metro station located at Enghave Plads in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The station is on the City Circle Line (M3), between Copenhagen Central Station and Frederiksberg Allé, and is in fare zone 1. Nearby landmarks include the music venue Vega, Enghave Park and the shopping and restaurant street Istedgade.
Enghavevej is a major street in the Vesterbro and Kongens Enghave districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Vesterbrogade in the north to Sydhavns Plads in the south, linking Kingosgade with Sydhavnsgade and Borgbjergsvej.