Christ Church ( Danish: Kristkirken) 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 situated on

Enghave Plads Enghave Plads is a central public square of the Vesterbro district in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located where Istedgade reaches Enghavevej, which separates the square from Enghave Park. History Enghave Plads was established when the Vesterbro ...

in the Vesterbro district of

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 a ...

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 ...

. It was designed by

Valdemar Koch Otto Valdemar Koch (20 October 1852 – 24 February 1902) was a Danish architect and local politician. He designed a number of churches in Copenhagen. Early life and education Valdemar Koch was born in the parish of Sønder Kirkeby on the isl ...

, who also built several other churches in Copenhagen around that time. Completed in 1900, it was the first new church to be opened in the fast-growing neighbourhood to relieve the pressure on St. Mathew's. Its style is inspired by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Romanesque church architecture.

History

Consecrated in 1880, St. Mathew's was the first church to be built in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen. By the end of the century the population of the parish had reached 70,000 and the need for new churches had become evident. The Church of Christ on Enghave Plads was the second church to be built in the neighbourhood. It was the result of an initiative taken by Th. Løgstrup, a pastor based in

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. He had heard about the shortage of churches in the rapidly growing capital and conceived the idea that pastors from around the country should donate a church to the city. He began a collection in 1893 and by 1898 adequate funds had been raised for construction to start on a site provided free of charge by the city. The architect

was commissioned to make the design and ground was broken on 29 March 1898. The new church was inaugurated on 6 May 1900 at a ceremony attended by, among others, King

Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

and about 100 pastors from around the country. Construction costs amounted to DKK 142,000. As a result, the Parish of Christ was disjoined from that of St. Matthew's. The church was refurbished in 1963-64.

Architecture

The church is mainly built to a

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

design with inspiration from

Romanesque church architecture. Valdemar Koch claimed not to have relied on a specific church for inspiration but its design is quite similar to that of

Spoleto Cathedral Spoleto Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta; ''Duomo di Spoleto'') is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia created in 1821, previously that of the diocese of Spoleto, and the principal church of the Umbrian city of Spol ...

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Sp ...

north of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The church is oriented along a north–south axis. It is built in yellow brick but the south-facing main facade towards the street is clad in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

with ornamental bands in green-glazed tiles. In front of the main entrance there is a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

supported by six columns and a roof clad in copper. Also clad in limestone, the tower stands at the south-west corner of the building. Above the loggia, the facade features a series of round-arched windows, highest in the middle to reflect the shape of the triangular gable. The gable is topped by a kneeling angel created by Thomas Bærentzen. He also designed the angels on the loggia, the two animal figures in the window group and the

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s at the base of the tower depicting the Four Evangelists' symbols. A short wall with two arched gates to the right of the church connects it to the neighbouring residential building. The first gate leads to the entrance to the church office along the side of the church while the second affords access to an interior courtyard space which surrounds the church on three sides and has facilities for the adjoining residential buildings. The right "representative" side of the church building is dressed while the left side stands in blank brick.

Interior and furnishings

The church is a three-nave building. The narrow lateral naves are separated from the central nave by arcades with columns bearing galleries. Raised three steps from the nave, the choir has a large round-arched, vaulted altar niche in its rear wall with a fresco by Johannes Kragh. The altarpiece depicting the birth of Christ was painted by

Axel Helsted Axel Theophilus Helsted (11 April 1847 - 17 February 1907) was a Denmark, Danish painter. Biography Helsted was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of the painter Frederik Ferdinand Helsted. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine ...

in 1903. The Romanesque granite font comes from Virring Church in Jutland. It was deposited in the garden of the rectory when the church got a new wooden font back in the 18th century. The bronze font basin was designed by Lorenz Frølich.

The church today

The church is a parish church within the

Cultural references

The interior of the church is featured in several episodes of the second season of the Danish crime series Forbrydelsen under the fictional name "Skt. Simon".

Gallery

File:Kristkirken 01.jpg, File:Kristkirken - Copenhagen 01.jpg, File:Kristkirken - Copenhagen 02.jpg,

References

External links

Official website
{{Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave Churches in Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave Lutheran churches in Copenhagen Churches in the Diocese of Copenhagen Churches completed in 1900