The Church of Our Saviour ( da, Vor Frelsers Kirke; ) is a
baroque church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
in
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 ...
, most famous for the external
spiral winding staircase that can be climbed to the top, offering extensive views over central Copenhagen. It is also noted for its
carillon, which is the largest in northern Europe and plays melodies every hour from 8 am to midnight.
History
When
Christian IV
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...
planned
Christianshavn in 1617, it was intended as an independent merchant's town on the island of
Amager and it therefore needed a church. A temporary church was inaugurated in 1639 but construction of the present Church of Our Saviour, the design of
Lambert van Haven
Lambert van Haven (16 April 1630 - 9 May 1695) was a Danish-Norwegian architect, master builder and painter. He was born in Bergen, the son of the artist Solomon van Haven who had already succeeded in winning the favour of the Danish-Norwegian mo ...
, did not start until 1682. The church was inaugurated 14 years later in 1695 but important interior features like the altar had a notoriously temporary character and the tower still had no spire. The church got its permanent altar in 1732 but plans for construction of the spire was not revitalized until 1747 under the reign of
Frederik V. The new architect on the project was
Lauritz de Thurah
Laurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah (4 March 1706 – 5 September 1759), was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period. As an architectural writer ...
. He soon abandoned van Haven's original design in favour of his own project that was approved by the King in 1749. Three years later the spire was finished and the King climbed the tower at a ceremony on 28 August 1752.
Urban legend
There is a long-lived
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
stating that the architect killed himself by jumping from the top of the spire, when he realised that the spiral turns the wrong way -
anticlockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...
- around. This is not about Lambert van Haven, since the spire was added to the church almost 50 years after his death, but the designer of the spiral spire,
Laurids de Thurah. There is no truth in the myth though, since Thurah died in his bed seven years after the spire was completed, and there is nothing in the records that indicates that he should have been unhappy with his work in any way.
Architecture
The church is built in a
Dutch baroque
Dutch Baroque architecture is a variety of Baroque architecture that flourished in the Dutch Republic and its colonies during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. (Dutch painting during the period is covered by Dutch Golden Age painting).
L ...
style and its basic layout is a
Greek cross
The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
. The walls rest on a
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
foundation and are made of red and yellow
tile
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
s but in a random pattern unlike what is seen in Christian IV's buildings where they are generally systematically arranged. The facade is segmented by
pilaster
In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s in the
palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
giant order
In classical architecture, a giant order, also known as colossal order, is an order whose columns or pilasters span two (or more) storeys. At the same time, smaller orders may feature in arcades or window and door framings within the storeys tha ...
, that is they continue in the building's entire height. The pilasters are of the
Tuscan order
The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but with ...
with
bases and
capitals in
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
. The
cornice is also in sandstone but with a
frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
in tiles. Between the pilasters are tall
round-arched windows with clear glass and iron
came
A came is a divider bar used between small pieces of glass to make a larger glazing panel.
There are two kinds of came: the H-shaped sections that hold two pieces together and the U-shaped sections that are used for the borders. Cames are mostl ...
s. There are entrances at the
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
of the cross arms except for the eastern gable where the
sacristy is added. The main entrance is in the western gable below the tower and has a sandstone portal. All entrances are raised four steps from street level. At each side of the tower, there is a gate at street level leading to the two
crypts of the church. The roof is vaulted and covered in
black-glazed tiles.
Interior
Tessin's altarpiece
The altarpiece is the work of
Nicodemus Tessin and is considered a masterpiece. It depicts a scene from the
Garden of Gethsemane
Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great reson ...
between two columns, where Jesus is comforted by an angel while another angel hangs in the air beside them, carrying the golden
chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning.
R ...
. On each side, two figures of
Pietas
''Pietas'' (), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans. It was the distingui ...
and
Justitia
Lady Justice ( la, Iustitia) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia.
Lady Justice originates from the ...
illustrate the King's
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
. The two columns carry a broken, curved
architrave and gable. Behind the opening of the broken gable is placed a pane with
Jahve's name in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
inscribed and lit from behind. Around the pane is an arrangement of gilded
beans
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...
and cloud formations.
Organ
The huge
organ with Christian V's gilded
monogram was built by the Botzen Brothers from 1698 to 1700 and is mounted on the wall and supported by two
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
s. The organ has more than 4000
pipe
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circular ...
s with the original
cymbelstern tinkling in the background during a special part of a music piece, and the entire instrument produces the sound that was heard in the church over 300 years ago. The church arranges 15-20 concerts every year together with musical church services on Sundays. The last rebuilding of the organ was in 1965, reusing older pipe work and this instrument is equipped with 57 stops spread over 4 manuals and pedals. The facade of the organ has intricate wood carvings and a bust of Christian V in the centre.
Tower
The tower is raised three stories above the western cross arm. The levels are marked by sandstone cornices that become larger with height, and there are round-arched openings on all four sides at each level. The top level is decorated with flat pilasters and from the uppermost cornice has a
gilded penetrated
clock face centrally on each side. The hands are connected to a
clockwork
Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or weight.
A clockwork mec ...
inside the tower.
Spire
The black and golden spire reaches a height of 90 metres and the external staircase turns four times
counterclockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...
around it. Inspiration for the design came from the spiral lantern of
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza
Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (''lit.'' 'Saint Ivo at the Sapienza (University of Rome)') is a Roman Catholic church in Rome. Built in 1642–1660 by the architect Francesco Borromini, the church is widely regarded a masterpiece of Roman Baroque archite ...
, which turns the same way around.
It is built as a
timber-framed
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...
structure,
octagonal at its base, with round-arched openings and round windows with gilded frames. The windows are flanked by gilded pilasters in the
composite order
The Composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order.Henig, Martin (ed.), ''A Handbook of Roman Art'', p. 50, Phaidon, 1983, In many versions the composite or ...
. Around the octagonal base of the spire on the four corners of the square tower, stand four statues of the
four evangelists. The octagonal structure is topped by a small platform with a gilded
railing and it is from this point that the staircase become external. There is a total number of 400 steps to the top of the spire, the last 150 being outside.
The spire is topped by a vase-like structure, carrying a gilded globe with a 4-meter-tall figure of Christ Triumphant carrying a
banner
A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...
. It has an infamous reputation for being the ugliest sculpture in Copenhagen but is intentionally made with exaggerated proportions because it is only meant to be seen from long distances.
Views
File:Vor Frelsers Kirke - Christiansborg view.jpg, View towards Christiansborg
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
and the National Bank
In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings:
* a bank owned by the state
* an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally)
* in the United States, an ordinary p ...
File:Vor Frelsers Kirke-view6.jpg, View towards Kløvermarken
Kløvermarken (the Clover Field) is a large green space in the Amager East district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally a military area, it has later been home to both Copenhagen's first air field and a camp for German refugees after World War II. ...
and Amager
File:Christianshavns Kanal and Wilders Plads from above.jpg, View of Christianshavn Canal and Wilders Plads
Wilders Plads is a waterfront area located just north of Wilders Kanal, a branch of Christianshavns Kanal, in the north-western corner of the Christianshavn neighbourhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. The area is bounded by Christianshavn Canal to the e ...
File:Vor Frelsers Kirke-view3.jpg, The entrance to Copenhagen Harbour
Carillon
The tower of the church is equipped with a concert
carillon from 1928 that was rebuilt in 1980 and consists of 48 bronze carillon bells that have a musical range of four octaves, making it the largest carillon in Northern Europe. The largest bells weigh over 2,000 kilograms and the smallest 10 kilograms. In total, the carillon weighs almost 12 tonnes, and chimes every hour over Christianshavn with different hymn compositions. The church established the first full-time carillon performance position in Denmark in 1983, and carillonneur
Ulla Laage held the position until 2006.
Grounds
The grounds of the church are surrounded by a fence and contains the remains of the church's graveyard. The current of
Our Saviour's Cemetery is located at the corner of
Amagerbrogade
Amagerbrogade is the main shopping street and thoroughfare of the part of Copenhagen, Denmark that is located on the island of Amager . It begins at the end of the causeway which connects Amager to Christianshavn and the city centre on the other ...
and
Prags Boulevard on
Amager, It was inaugurated in 1790.
Burials
Burials at the church include:
*
Andreas Bjørn (1703–1750), merchant, shipowner and ship builder
*
Otto Fabricius
Otto Fabricius (6 March 174420 May 1822) was a Danish missionary, naturalist, ethnographer, and explorer of Greenland.
Biography
Otto Fabricius was born in Rudkøbing on the island of Langeland, Denmark, where his father was a rector. In his ...
(1744–1822), missionary, naturalist, ethnographer and explorer
*
Frederik Holmsted (1683–1758), merchant and mayor of Copenhagen
*
Carl Viborg (1783–1844), veterinarian
Cultural connections
The Church of Our Saviour in Christianshavn appears in a chapter of
Jules Verne's ''
A Journey to the Center of the Earth''. The character Axel is made to climb the winding spire for five consecutive days by his uncle to cure him of his
Acrophobia
Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share both similar causes and options fo ...
before their descent into the
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Ear ...
.
The French painter and
illustrator Édouard Riou
Édouard Riou (; 2 December 1833 – 27 January 1900) was a French illustrator who illustrated six novels by Jules Verne, as well as several other well-known works.
Life
Riou was born in 1833 in Saint-Servan, Ille-et-Vilaine, and studied u ...
has depicted the church in the original French illustrated version of ''A Journey to the Center of the Earth'', but has the spire turned the wrong way around, that is, clockwise instead of counterclockwise.
Image gallery
Image:The spiral staircase of Vor Frelsers Kirke in Copenhagen, Denmark.jpg, The spiral staircase narrowing
References
External links
Vor Frelsers Kirkeofficial website
Vor Frelsers Kirkemap
{{Authority control
Lutheran churches in Copenhagen
17th-century Church of Denmark churches
Christian bell towers
Buildings and structures in Christianshavn
Carillons
Tourist attractions in Copenhagen
Landmarks in Copenhagen
Baroque architecture in Copenhagen
Churches in the Diocese of Copenhagen