Bagsværd Church is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in

Bagsværd Bagsværd () is a middle-class suburb located approximately 12 km northwest of central Copenhagen, in the Gladsaxe Municipality. Bagsværd houses the headquarters of Danish pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and biotechnology co ...

on the northern outskirts of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark. Designed in 1968 by

Jørn Utzon Jørn Oberg Utzon (; 9 April 191829 November 2008) was a Danish architect. In 1957, he won an international design competition for his design of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon's revised design, which he completed in 1961, was the b ...

, it was completed in 1976.Balters , Sofia . "AD Classics: Bagsværd Church / Jørn Utzon" in ArchDaily, 12 Sep 2011
retrieved 15 September 2011 The building is considered to be a masterpiece of contemporary church architecture, especially its bright, naturally illuminated interior and its ceiling straddled with softly rounded vaulting."Bagsværd Kirke (1976)"
, ''Dansk Arkitektur Center''. Retrieved 15 September 2011.

History

In 1538, the church in Bagsværd was pulled down on the orders of the king so that the stones could be used to repair the old Catholic bishop's palace which, after the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, was to be used as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

for the new

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

. Thereafter, the parishioners had to use the church in

Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Municipality () is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 70,958 (2025). ...

though there was increasing interest in building a new church in Bagsværd. It therefore came as no surprise that the congregational council took special interest in the church Utzon had included in a competition exhibit for the town centre in

Farum Farum is a town on the northeast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, 20 km northwest of Copenhagen. The town has a population of 20,369 (1 January 2025).

when it was displayed in Gladsaxe at an architectural exhibition in 1967. When he was asked whether he would like to submit a proposal for a church at Bagsværd, Utzon was elated: "There I stood, and was offered the finest task an architect can have — a magnificent time when it was the light from above that showed us the way." The proposal he submitted the following year included four sketches: the first one showed a group of people under the clouds on a beach, the last one depicted the same people as a congregation in a church where the clouds had become the sculptural roof. They were intended to illustrate Utzon's understanding of the overall concept.There were a series of difficulties over the funding of the building which finally cost DKK 10 million after Utzon had reduced its size by 10 percent and the Gladsaxe municipality had contributed DKK 1 million. A building permit was granted in 1973 but, experiencing financial difficulties, the church ministry quickly attempted to halt construction. However, before their ruling came into force, the contractors

Christiani & Nielsen Christiani & Nielsen was a construction contractor with major operations worldwide. It still trades in Thailand. History Christiani & Nielsen was established by Rudolf Christiani, a Danish civil engineer, and Aage Nielsen, a captain in the Roya ...

established a presence on the site allowing work to begin. The new church was consecrated on 15 August 1976.Michael Asgaard Andersen, "Revisiting Utzon’s Bagsværd Church"
''Nordisk Arkitekturforskning''. 2005: 2, p. 95 et seq. Retrieved 16 September 2011.

Architecture

Located on a narrow plot in a suburban setting, the building itself is narrow, and has an austere façade which encloses the various rooms and a number of small courtyards. Surrounded by birch trees, the exterior walls are faced with white prefabricated concrete panels and white glazed tiles. The aluminium roof gives the church a rather industrial look. Glass sections provide lighting over the connecting corridors. Covering an area of 1,700 square meters, the tight geometrical plan consists of three sections and a courtyard between two parallel corridors.
''ArcSpace.com''. Retrieved 17 September 2011. The rectilinear, modular structure of the building and its integrated courtyards, as well as the connecting corridors, are said to be inspired by the design of

Buddhist temples A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhi ...

in China.

The interior

The interior includes the nave and sacristy, offices, rooms for confirmation classes, a meeting room, and a whole section for youth activities. They are all linked by wide corridors which run both through the building and along the external walls where they are illuminated by skylights. The vaulted ceiling is made of reinforced

concrete shell A concrete shell, also commonly called thin shell concrete structure, is a structure composed of a relatively thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses. The shells are most commonly monolithic domes, but ma ...

s, only 12 centimetres thick and spanning 17 metres.Bagsværd Church
, retrieved 15 September 2011 The curved cylindrical shells rest on flanges supported by rows of double columns which act as

flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of a ramping arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall ou ...

es.

Natural lighting

A notable feature of the church is the natural lighting, facilitated by the all-white interior. It is achieved by means of high lateral windows across the entire width of the nave or, in the case of the smaller rooms, through sidelights bringing daylight in from the courtyards. In addition, there are extensive skylights which, in Utzon's words, result from "the inspiration that I derived from the drifting clouds above the sea and the shore orminga wondrous space in which the light fell through the ceiling — the clouds — down on to the floor represented by the shore and the sea." Indeed, Utzon was inspired to design the church when he was lying on a Hawaii beach, shortly after his premature departure from Australia as a result of disagreements over the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. Contemplating a regular succession of cylindrical clouds, he concluded that they provided a perfect basis for modelling a church ceiling.

Inventory

Utzon himself designed the altar wall which consists of an airy triangular grid of thin white tiles, known as Flensborg bricks, while the church's colourful textiles, carpeting and ceramic decorations were designed by his daughter, Lin Utzon. The organ, also designed by Jørn Utzon, was constructed in 1979 by Poul-Gerhard Andersen, with woodwork by Kurt Kærsgaard. The light pine pews as well as the church's concert piano, built by Steingraeber & Söhne in

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

, were also designed by Utzon."Koncerter"
, ''Bagsværd Krike''. Retrieved 17 September 2011. The church's four bells were designed by Thubalka in

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality (''Municipalities of De ...

and cast at the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry at Asten in the Netherlands.

Assessments

The architectural critic Kenneth Frampton considers Bagsværd Church an outstanding example of

critical regionalism Critical regionalism is an approach to architecture that strives to counter the placelessness and lack of identity of the International Style, but also rejects the whimsical individualism and ornamentation of Postmodern architecture. The stylings ...

owing to the synthesis it achieves between universal and regional cultures. He believes the design of the highly configurated concrete shell vault, unique in Western religious architecture, was inspired by the Chinese pagoda roof cited by Utzon in his essay "Platforms and Plateaus" (1963). Furthermore, the plan arrangement of the church's interior is reminiscent of Chinese Buddhist monasteries as described in a book by Johannes Prip-Møller. From the outside, constructed in reinforced concrete and aluminium with glass-covered sections, the building looks more like a factory than a traditional church but inside it offers an impressive combination of soft, rounded shapes and sharp edges. Writing in

Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...

on the occasion of the church's consecration, architectural correspondent Martin Hartung commented: "Bagsværd Church has turned into an architectonic attraction, an example of how Jørn Utzon can combine the technique and the art of building to form something transcending them both."

The church today

The church forms an active part of the local community. In addition to regular church services, there are frequent concerts thanks to the choirs (including a Gregorian male choir and various children's choirs), the organ and the concert piano. Some of the concerts are free, thanks to contributions from the church council, others with visiting musicians require tickets for entry. The church also hosts exhibitions of paintings and artwork."Udstillinger"
, ''Bagsværd Kirke''. Retrieved 17 September 2011. Bagsværd Church is open for tourist visits Tuesday to Friday at 10 to 14 o'clock and Sundays and public holidays at 12 to 16 o’clock. From April 1 to September 30 the church is also open on Saturdays from 12 to 16 o’clock - however, not during church services. The church is not open for tourist visits: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Good Friday , ''Bagsværd Kirke''. Retrieved 17 September 2011. File:Bagsværd Church.12.jpg, Austere outer walls File:Bagsværd Church interior July 2007.jpg, Church interior from ground level File:Bagsværd Church.10.jpg, Corridor with skylights File:Bagsværd.Kirke.jpg, Sacristy

References

External links

Official website

Michael Asgaard Andersen, "Revisiting Utzon’s Bagsværd Church"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagsvaerd Church Churches in Gladsaxe Municipality Churches in the Diocese of Helsingør Concrete shell structures Churches completed in 1976 Jørn Utzon buildings in Denmark 1960s architecture in Denmark