Brønshøj Church is a

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

parish church in

Brønshøj Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark. History The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

History

The church was built in the 1180s in the

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

by bishop

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of Denm ...

using chalk ashlar. Its original dedication was to

saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

and it first appears in the written record under that name in two papal letters of 21 October 1186 and 25 March 1193, stating that Absalon owned a 'bol' in Brønshøj and was the church's patron. A redbrick Gothic tower was added around 1450, a porch in 1892 and a sacristy in 1942. During the Swedish occupation of 1658, the church's interior was destroyed and the building used as an armoury and weapons store. Its 1587 altarpiece and its font were both preserved, though the rest of the church furniture was lost - the current Baroque pulpit dates from 1678. The British also camped in the church's cemetery in 1807 during the battle of Copenhagen. After its parish became part of the

Copenhagen Municipality Copenhagen Municipality ( da, Københavns Kommune), also known in English as the Municipality of Copenhagen, located in the Capital Region of Denmark, is the largest of the four municipalities that constitute the City of Copenhagen (), the othe ...

in 1901, it became the oldest building in the municipality. The church passed to private ownership on 1 October 1934.

Cultural references

The church and cemetery has been used as a location in the films '' Min søsters børn på bryllupsrejse'' (1967), '' Zappa'' (1983) '' Max pinlig'' (2008).

Sources

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brønshøj Church 1180s Lutheran churches in Copenhagen 12th-century churches in Denmark Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Churches in the Diocese of Copenhagen