Sankt Nicolai Kirke - Copenhagen - DSC07752

The Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center ( da, Nikolaj Kunsthal, formerly (from 2006 - 2010) ''Kunsthallen Nikolaj'' and (until 2006) ''Nikolaj Udstillingsbygning'') is an

arts centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...

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 ...

which occupies the former St. Nicholas Church ( da, Sankt Nikolaj Kirke), named after

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

, one of the city's oldest churches and most conspicuous landmarks. It is situated on

Højbro Plads Højbro Plads (literally "High Bridge Square") is a rectangular public square located between the adjoining Amagertorv and Slotsholmen Canal in the City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from the Højbro Bridge which connects it t ...

, a few steps away from

Amagertorv Amagertorv (English: Amager Square), today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone, is often described as the most central square in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Second only to Gammeltorv, it is also one of the oldest, taking its name from the Amage ...

and

Strøget Strøget () is a pedestrian, car free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city o ...

. The church building is noted for its fanciful Neo-Baroque long spire. The tower offers some of the best views of the city centre.

History

The original church building was constructed in the early thirteenth century near Copenhagen's shore of the Øresund. In 1530, the Lutheran theologian Hans Tavsen (1494–1561) preached the first Lutheran sermon within Copenhagen in St Nicholas Church. The fire of 1795 burned down most of the building, and from 1805, it was no longer an official church. Though church ruins were demolished, the sturdy tower remains standing in the present day. Butcher stalls occupied the area around the tower until the second half of the 1800s when they were closed. The current building, which opened in 1912, is by a design of the architect, Hans Christian Amberg (1749–1815), representing a modern reconstruction of the destroyed church. The current spire is also a modern reconstruction of the original, financed in 1909 at the initiative and expense of the brewer

Carl Jacobsen Carl Christian Hillman Jacobsen (2 March 1842 – 11 January 1914) was a Danish brewer, art collector and philanthropist. Though often preoccupied with his cultural interests, Jacobsen was a shrewd and visionary businessman and initiated the tra ...

(1842-1914). He also financed the 1915–1917 repairs. The tower has served as a

naval museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the milita ...

and its attic was at one time a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. It was also the focus of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

's drama, ''Love of Nicolai Tower'' performed in 1829 at the Royal Theatre. When the internationally notable Danish sculptor

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

returned to Copenhagen in 1838 after living and working for 40 years in Rome, a flag was hoisted on the tower when his ship approached to alert residents of his arrival.

Presently

Nikolaj collaborates with a range of organisations locally, nationally and internationally in the realm of new artistic forms and media. The art center's focus is on Danish and international contemporary art. The first art exhibitions occurred at Nikolaj in 1957. Nikolaj gained prominence after the

Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finished product. Fluxus ...

performances of the 1960s. organized by

Knud Pedersen Knud Pedersen (26 December 1925, in Grenaa – 18 December 2014, in Gentofte) was a Danish artist and resistance leader. His career as a public figure started in 1942, when he and seven other young Danes founded the resistance group, ''Churchil ...

and Arthur Köpcke. Nikolaj is focussing on contemporary art with two annual exhibitions, one by children, and another one by an older artist who is deemed to have had a pioneering effect on modern art.

Jananne Al-Ani Jananne Al-Ani (born 1966) is an Irish-Iraqi artist. Personal life Al-Ani was born in Kirkuk, Iraq in 1966 to an Iraqi father and Irish mother. She studied Fine Art at the Byam Shaw School of Art and graduated with an MA in Photography from th ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

Andreas Emenius Andreas Emenius (born February 24, 1973) is a Swedish cross-disciplinary artist known for installation, painting, and performance, based in Copenhagen. Emenius has shown work in multiple global biennales as well as museums, and is currently the ...

Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...

, and

Kutluğ Ataman Kutluğ Ataman (born 1961 in Istanbul Turkey) is an acclaimed Turkish-American contemporary artist and feature filmmaker. Ataman's films are known for their strong characterization and humanity. His early art works examine the ways in which peo ...

have exhibited notably at Nikolaj.

References

External links

Kunsthallen Nikolaj Official website
{{Authority control Arts centres in Denmark Art museums and galleries in Copenhagen Buildings and structures completed in 1912 1912 establishments in Denmark