Construction of the original Collegiate Church of St. Mary (den hellige Marias kirke) began no later than 1187 under archbishop Absalon (c.1128–1201). The church was located on the highest point near the new town of Havn, later Copenhagen. Absalon was the bishop of Roskilde (Zealand), Denmark's capital of that era, and spent most of his life securing Denmark from foreign attacks. He built many churches and monasteries, while also founding Copenhagen as Denmark's Baltic port city. Named archbishop of Lund in 1178, Absalon accepted only under threat of excommunication. St. Mary's construction continued sporadically until 1209, when it was consecrated by Absalon's successor, bishop Peder Sunesen[Wikidata] (c. 1161–1214) on Annunciation Sunday in March, which became the church's traditional feast day. The church was built in Romanesque style with its half-rounded arches inside and out.[3][4]
In 1314, a fire destroyed the limestone church so completely that it was rebuilt in the popular new building material of the day, oversized red brick. The style of building was Gothic, with its typical pointed arches. The rebuilding of the simple church with a long nave and choir continued until 1388. Due to a lack of money, the great tower was not built until the reign of king Christian II. It was as high as the church was long, and from artwork of the day, out of proportion to the size of the church.[5]
A school was established early on. In 1479, parts of the church school received a charter and become the University of Copenhagen. Professors were brought from Cologne, Germany. The international faculty widened Denmark's exposure to the great ideas and philosophies of the day. The university challenged the growth of the Protestant movement, but was eventually closed. By 1537 it reopened as a centre for Lutheran studies.[6]
The rebuilt cathedral in the 18th century
The Protestant Reformation was hard on St. Mary's. Citizens of Copenhagen had elected to follow Luther, but Roman Catholic officials at St Mary's tried to maintain the church as a centre of Catholic resistance to change in Copenhagen. By royal decree both Roman Catholic and Lutheran priests were commanded to use the church jointly, which incensed the majority of Copenhagen's population. On 27 December 1530 hundreds of citizens stormed St. Mary's, destroying every statue and dismantling the choir stalls. The 17 richly gilt altars were stripped of jewels and gold and smashed, as were reliquaries, vestments and altar equipment. Even the name "St. Mary's" became Our Lady's Church (Vor Frue Kirke), keeping the historic reference to the Virgin Mary without the use of the un-Lutheran "Saint" appellation.[6]
Just a year later Our Lady Church celebrated the acceptance of the Lutheran order of worship presided over by Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1558), an associate of Martin Luther. 1539 saw the installation of the first Lutheran superintendents, later bishops, of Denmark. In 1568 the dean of Our Lady Church was charged with defining accepted practice for Lutheran church services in Denmark under the direction of the Bishop of Zealand. Ever since, the dean (and later bishop) of Our Lady Church has carried out that role in the Danish National Church.[6]
Lightning strikes damaged the church in 1573 and 1585, and some of the vaulting, tower, and roof collapsed after the resulting fires. The tower was eventually demolished, but rebuilt by 1609. It had an extremely tall pyramidal central spire with four shorter spires at each corner.[7]
The medieval proto-cathedral was completely destroyed by a four-day-long conflagration in October 1728 which destroyed a third of the city. All the many chapels and eighty epitaphs commemorating some of Denmark's most prominent nobles and wealthy parishioners vanished. A decade later, the church was reconstructed, essentially on the same plan as the medieval church, in red brick with a simple long nave and rounded choir added at the end and ornate sandstone doorways beneath the spire. The interior combined Gothic and with the ornate Baroque style of the time. Ranks of tall half-round windows let in natural light, and ribbed brick vaulting arched high overhead from two long rows of squared pillars supporting the roof. A row of side chapels ringed the nave and choir giving the appearance of a five-aisled church which impressed all who entered, including King Christian VI who oversaw the building's progress with impatience. Friederich Ehbisch (1672–1748) carved a magnificent new altarpiece and pulpit in the finest Baroque tradition. The best-preserved ancient gravestones from the floor of the old church were replaced in the floor, although not in the same locations.[8]
After the 1728 fire, the new tower rose, higher than the previous one tapering to a tall spire modeled after the spire of St. Martin in the Fields in London. The bells from the former St. Nikolai Church (Sankt Nikolaj Kirke) were moved to the new spire in 1743 and a set of four new bells were cast and added. The largest bell, "The King's Bell", weighed just over 6000kg. Eventually, the tower held 42 bells. It was popular at the time to pay for extra ringing after weddings and funerals, which was a source of complaint by university students who were trying to study. A smaller tower in the same style was added to the roofline above the choir.[6]
In September 1807, the cathedral was destroyed during the bombardment of Copenhagen by the British Royal Navy under Admiral James Gambier during the Napoleonic Wars. The British demanded the surrender of the Dano-Norwegian fleet and the city. The Danes refused, but with most of the army on the Schleswig-Holstein border, the city was nearly defenseless. For three days the fleet bombarded the city and coastal forts. Royal Navy gunners used the tower of church for range practice, setting it ablaze, which in turn burned the church to the ground, along with nearby sections of Copenhagen. Copenhagen surrendered and the fleet was turned over to the British.[9]
Denmark's finest architect,[according to whom?] Christian Frederik Hansen, and the city magistrate redesigned the cathedral in the Neo-Classical style. Due to a lack of resources they incorporated elements of the surviving walls. The old surviving vaulting was blown up to make way for a church built in the new style. A pillared portico and a flat interior ceiling and simple classical lines are very different from the medieval church. The cornerstone was laid in 1817 and the work completed by Whitsun Day 1829. Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844) was commissioned to decorate the interior with statues of Jesus Christ and the apostles; Judas Iscariot replaced by St. Paul. Other artists also contributed sculptures and paintings. Thorvaldsen carved and donated the modern font as a personal gift.[10]
The tower, based on the older medieval tower, became a controversial afterthought. The Neo-Classical style did not include towers, but citizens demanded and got a tower modeled on the older medieval tower. The tower is 60 meters high and contains four bells. "Stormklokken", cast in 1828 by Soren Hornhaver, is the heaviest bell in Denmark at 4 tons. The oldest bell in Denmark also hangs there cast in 1490 by Olug Kegge. It was transferred to Our Lady Church from Antvorskov Kloster. A third bell was cast in 1699 by Friderich Holtzmann. The fourth cast by Anker Heegaard in 1876.[6]
Our Lady Church was designated Denmark's National Cathedral in 1924. Its relatively recent cathedral status stems from the splitting of Zealand (Sjaelland) into two Lutheran dioceses in 1922.[6]
Major renovation organized by Professor Vilhelm Wohlert (1920–2007) in 1977–79 removed various additions that had accrued in the interior of the church over the years. Marcussen & Søn built a new large central organ in 1995, with a choir organ added in 2002. The crypt has been converted into a museum which contains models of the various iterations of the building.[11]
Architecture
Statues by Bertel Thorvaldsen depicting Jesus Christ and his Apostles
The building measures 83m in length and 33m in width. The interior of the nave is 60m long and over 25m from floor to ceiling. With all galleries open, the church can seat more than 1100 people. The tower is 60m high and houses the four church bells. Stormklokken weighs 4 tons and is the largest bell in Denmark. The smallest bell in the tower is used at morning service among other occasions. It is the oldest bell in the country, dating from 1490 and taken from the former Antvorskov Kloster in Slagelse. [12]
The pediment is decorated with bronzes of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The interior is likewise decorated with the twelve apostles (one in front of each of the piers of the central nave), the Risen Christ displaying the wounds in his body (in a niche above the altar) and in front of the altar the baptismal font in the form of an angel holding a large scallop shell, all in Italian carrara marble. All of these sculptures were completed in Rome by the famous Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. In the aisles, a bronze bust of Bertel Thorvaldsen, modeled by Herman Wilhelm Bissen (1798–1868) is on display along with many portraits of bishops and deans. [13]
Each morning (except Sundays), between 8.05 and 8.25 local time, Danish public radio (DR) transmits a live act of worship from the cathedral, recordings of which can also be heard via the internet.[15]
Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor and medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a working-class Danish/Icelandic family, and was accepted to the Royal Danish Academy of Art at the age of eleven. Working part-time with his father, who was a wood carver, Thorvaldsen won many honors and medals at the academy. He was awarded a stipend to travel to Rome and continue his education.
Herman Wilhelm Bissen was a Danish sculptor. Bissen created a number of public works, working in plaster, marble and bronze.
The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of the 23rd of October 1728. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city and left 20% of the population homeless. The reconstruction lasted until 1737. No less than 47% of the section of the city, which dates back to the Middle Ages, was completely lost, and along with the Copenhagen Fire of 1795, it is the main reason that few traces of medieval Copenhagen can be found in the modern city.
St. Peter's Church is the parish church of the German-speaking community in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is situated at the corner of Nørregade and Sankt Peders Stræde in the city's Latin Quarter. 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.
Budolfi Church is the cathedral church for the Lutheran Diocese of Aalborg in north Jutland, Denmark.
The Holmen Church is a Parish church in central Copenhagen in Denmark, on the street called Holmens Kanal. First built as an anchor forge in 1563, it was converted into a naval church by Christian IV. It is famous for having hosted the wedding between Margrethe II of Denmark, queen of Denmark between 1972 and 2024, and Prince Henrik in 1967. It is the burial site of such notabilities as naval heroes Niels Juel and Peter Tordenskjold, and composer Niels Wilhelm Gade, and contains artwork by, among others, Bertel Thorvaldsen and Karel van Mander.
Viborg Cathedral, Our Lady Cathedral is the site of one of Denmark's most important historic churches located in the town of Viborg in northern Jutland. The modern building is a 19th-century construction based on Lund Cathedral in southern Sweden which bears no resemblance to the medieval cathedral that stood on the site since 1130.
Akureyrarkirkja or The Church of Akureyri is a prominent Lutheran church at Akureyri in northern Iceland. Located in the centre of the city, it was designed by Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950) and completed in 1940.
Our Lady's Priory, Aarhus was an early Dominican foundation just outside the original walls of Aarhus, Denmark. The buildings are part of the Church of Our Lady complex, now part of the inner city of Aarhus, but they have been repurposed.
The Abbey of Our Lady, Aalborg was an early Benedictine monastery in Aalborg, Denmark. The former monastic church survived a parish church until 1876 when it was demolished. The present Vor Frue Kirke was built on the site between 1877 and 1878.
Christian Gottlieb Vilhelm Bissen was a Danish sculptor. He was also a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts with great influence on the next generation of Danish sculptors and for a while served as its director. Bissen was trained in the Neoclassical tradition from Bertel Thorvaldsen but after a stay in Paris around 1880, he was influenced by Naturalism. With the equestrian statue of Absalon he turned to Neo-romanticism.
Immanuel Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church is a historic church on W. Second Street in Kimballton, in Audubon County, Iowa. It was built in 1904 and was added to the National Register in 1991. Four years later it was included as a contributing property in the Kimballton West 2nd – West 3rd Street Residential District.
Carl Christian Ernst Hartmann was a Danish sculptor who worked with antique motifs in the Thorvaldsen tradition.
The Old Church of Our Lady is an 11th-century brick church in Roskilde on the Danish island of Zealand.
Metropolitanskolen was a school in Copenhagen, Denmark founded in 1209 by the Bishop Peder Sunesen, and for centuries one of the most prestigious schools in the country.
Catholic Church of Our Lady is a church in Aarhus, Denmark. The church is situated in the central Indre By neighbourhood on the pedestrian street Ryesgade, close to the Central Station and City Hall. It is a Catholic Church within the Diocese of Copenhagen; built between 1877 and 1880 by designs of the German architect Franz Schmitz and later renovated by the architect Carl R. Frederiksen. The church has seating for 500 people.
Otto Frederik Theobald Evens was a Danish sculptor.
Saint Peter's Church is a Lutheran church located in the center of Slagelse, Denmark. The congregation was originally part of the Roman Catholic Church, but was converted to Lutheranism during the Reformation.
References
↑ "Vor Frue Kirke". Nationalmuseet. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
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