Trinity Church ( sv, Heliga trefaldighetskyrkan) is a

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

in Kristianstad,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, built between 1617 and 1628 by Christian IV of Denmark. He had founded the city of Kristianstad in 1614 at a time when Scania was part of the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...

. The church's large size and style reveal the king's ambitions for his new city.

Architecture

Lorenz van Steenwinckel Lorenz van Steenwinckel (1585–1619) was a Flemish-Danish architect and sculptor, son of Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder and brother of Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger. From 1613, he was responsible for numerous projects commissioned by Christia ...

, the grand building is widely considered by many to be Scandinavia's finest Renaissance church. Its extensive nave is able to accommodate congregations of up to 1,400. Like many Danish churches of the times, it is built of red brick. But this church is decorated with many sandstone statues and ornaments, including several monograms of Christian IV, testifying to his involvement. The well-preserved interior is decked with star-shaped cross vaults, supported by pillars of granite. Trinity Church has been little altered since it was built. The main addition is its 59-meter-tall tower constructed in 1865. The church is pleasantly and abundantly illuminated thanks to its 26 tall windows. The entrance through the western tower opens into a six-bay nave, with wide aisles, terminating in a projecting eastern sanctuary. The vaults are covered with a cross-gabled roof, with large ornamented gables on the north and south sides.

Furnishings and decorations

The pulpit, which is sculpted in Belgian and Italian marble, shows Christ and the four evangelists. The impressive canopy hanging above the pulpit weighs almost a ton. The Baroque organ case survives, including the case pipes, from German-born Johan Lorentz's 1630 organ, but the organ itself has been replaced. The present organ is used both for concerts and church services. The delicately carved benches are as old as the church itself.Tove's Walking Tour of Kristianstad.
Retrieved 20 December 2009.

Gallery

File:Trinity church, Kristianstad.jpg, Photograph from the south, c. 1900 File:Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan interiör 1.jpg, Interior with chandalier File:Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan orgeln.jpg, 1630 organ case with original pipes File:Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan, portal.jpg, Main entrance through the tower

References

{{Churches in Scania Churches in Skåne County Churches in the Diocese of Lund 17th-century Church of Sweden church buildings Churches completed in 1628 1628 establishments in Sweden Kristianstad Brick buildings and structures in Sweden Baroque architecture in Sweden Renaissance church buildings Brick churches