Reformed Church (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Reformert Kirke'') in Gothersgade, opposite

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle ( da, Rosenborg Slot) is a renaissance architecture, renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV of Denmark, Christian IV's ...

, is a church building used by the

reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

congregations 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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Consecrated in 1689, the church was instigated by Queen Charlotte Amalie, consort of King

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

, who was herself a German

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. The church is noted for its fine

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

interiors which date from 1730 when it was restored after being damaged in the

Copenhagen Fire of 1728 The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of 23 October. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (measured by coun ...

History

Prior to her marriage to King

Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

in 1667,

Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (27 April 1650 – 27 March 1714) was Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian V. Although she did not have much political influence, she was a successful businesswoman in her many estates and pro ...

had requested, and had been granted for herself and her court, the right to profess freely her

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

faith. In 1685, encouraged by his queen, Christian V licensed the formation of a reformed congregation among German, Dutch and French immigrants. Mainly refugees, many members of the congregation held prominent positions in society, typically as merchants, craftsmen, often with new trades, or military officers. After a few years the congregation split into a ''German Reformed Church'' and a ''French Reformed Church''. Charlotte Amelia also personally financed the erection of the church building on a prominent site in Gothersgade, opposite

. The architect was Hendrik Brokhamm, a Dutch sculptor who had recently arrived in Denmark and later worked with

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 ...

, for instance on the Church of Our Saviour at

Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...

where he executed the main portal. Charlotte Amalie placed the foundation stone on 20 April 1688, and the building was consecrated on 10 November 1689. The German and French reformed churches shared the new church. The complex also included a rectory, with residences for four priests, a school, an old age asylum, and an orphanage. The church was badly damaged in the

but was subsequently rebuilt with new furnishings attributed the sculptor

Friederich Ehbisch Johan Friedrich Ehbisch (Ebisch) (1672-6 May 1748) was a Danish sculptor. Born in Copenhagen, by 1705 he was employed as a court sculptor and stonemason. He was engaged in numerous royal projects; from 1705-09 he was responsible for the decoration o ...

(c. 1672–1748). In 1886 the architect

Ludvig Knudsen Ludvig Harald Knudsen (18 August 1843 – 16 March 1924) was a Historicism (art), Historicist Denmark, Danish architect. He mainly designed churches. Biography Ludvig Knudsen was born in Copenhagen. He was the son of Jens Christian Knudsen ( ...

built a community house for the congregation (''menighedshus'') and a multi-storey building and in 1880 he conducted a restoration of the church.

Architecture

The church is built in red brick and designed in the Dutch Baroque style. It has a rectangular floor plan with a slightly progressing median risalit on the facade toward Gothersgade, decorated with Ionic

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s and a triangular pediment. Above the entrance there is a

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

with the monograms of Christian V and Charlotte Amalie and an inscription from

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

2.3. The

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

with black tiles is topped by a copper-clad

flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire *Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing) The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée. Background ...

with two lanterns which rises 13.5 metres above the roof. It was added in 1731 in connection with the rebuilding after the fire.

Interior

The church room is oriented along the short axis of the building and is dominated by beautifully carved wooden features. Typical of reformed but unusual for Danish churches, it has a centrally placed pulpit set dramatically high above the altar table. The organ front was originally from

Copenhagen Castle Copenhagen Castle ( da, Københavns Slot) was a castle on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in the late 14th century and was located at the site of the current Christiansborg Palace. History In 1167, Bisho ...

and dates from 1724. It was transferred to the church in 1730 when the castle was demolished to make room for the first Christiansborg Palace. The current organ was made by the organ manufacturer ''Köhne'' and is from 1878. The church's closed boxes were reserved for noble families and later the wealthy merchants of the congregation.

Churchyard

The churchyard next to the church has been decommissioned. The original German section to the left of the entrance has no graves left but the French section to the right still has 18 graves and the shared churchyard to the rear also has a number of gravestones, including that of Vice Admiral

Olfert Fischer Johan Olfert Fischer (4 August 1747 – 18 February 1829) was a Danish officer in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. He commanded the Dano-Norwegian fleet against British forces under Lord Nelson during the Danish defeat at Copenhagen on 2 April 18 ...

the son of Dutch immigrants, who was one of the Danish commanders in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. Other interments include the Danish Court Painter

Jacques d'Agar Jacques d'Agar (''Danish: Jacob d'Agar'' 9 March 1640 – 16 November 1715) was a French portrait painter born in Paris. He was a pupil of Jacob Ferdinand Voet. He began his career as an history painter, but he soon abandoned history for portrai ...

who immigrated from France, and C. de Cormaillon, commander of Kastellet.

Burials

(1747–1820), naval officer *

Urban Jürgensen Urban Bruun Jürgensen (5 August 1776 - 14 May 1830) was a Danish watchmaker. His company lived on and was called Jules Jürgensen after one of his two sons and is based in Switzerland. Early life and education Jürgensen was born on 5 August 1 ...

(1776–1830), clockmaker

Reformed Church today

The church is still used by the German and French Reformed Churches in Copenhagen and since 1990 also by a

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n congregation. Along with a fourth congregation 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 ...

, they form the

Reformed Synod of Denmark The Reformed Synod of Denmark ( da, Den reformerte Synode) is a synod (council) of four Calvinist free church congregations in Denmark. A member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, it has approximately 700 members. The current moderator i ...

which is a member of the

World Alliance of Reformed Churches The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) was a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin. Its headquarters was in Geneva, Switzerland. They are now merged ...

. The church and churchyard is open every Wednesday and Thursday from 11:30 to 15:30 from spring to autumn.

References

External links

Official website
of the French Reformed Church (in Danish)
French emigrants in Copenhagen
{{Copenhagen churches Churches in Copenhagen

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, ...

Churches completed in 1689 1689 establishments in Denmark Listed religious buildings and structures in Denmark