Birkerød Church ( Danish: ''Birkerød Kirke'') is a church at

Birkerød Birkerød () is a town in Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is surrounded by several lakes and small woodlands. Birkerød station is located on the Nordbanen, Hillerød radial of the S-train suburban networ ...

Rudersdal Municipality Rudersdal Municipality () is a part suburban, part rural municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') located on the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 73 km² and has a population of 57,342 (1. January 2025). The distance ...

Greater Copenhagen The urban area of Copenhagen (also known as Greater Copenhagen) ( or ), lying mostly in the Capital Region of Denmark but also in Region Zealand, consist of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities and the former Copenhagen County. In all, it ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It is one of two churches in the parish of Birkerød, the other being

Høsterkøb Church Høsterkøb Church () is a parish church in the village of Høsterkøb, Rudersdal Municipality, some 20 km north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. History The church was designed by Ulrik Plesner. Construction began in 1907 and it was inaugurated o ...

Høsterkøb Høsterkøb is a village in Rudersdal Municipality, some north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is bounded on the south by Rude Forest and on the north by open fields. Etymology The name is derived from ''Husfrecop''. The first part of the name ...

which dates to 1908. Birkerød Church is particularly noted for its

Gothic frescoes Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and ...

(''kalkmalerier'').

History

The church dates from the 12th century but has later undergone numerous changes. The nave and chancel of Birkerød Church were built in stone in the middle of the 12th century. A north chapel built in mixed field stone and brick was added in the beginning of the 13th century. The remains of it can still be seen in the wall between the sacristy and north chapel. The nave was at this point also lengthened westwards to its current length. Construction of the tower began in circa 1475. A new chancel also replaced the old one at this point. The porch was built around 1525 and the current north chapel was built in 1563. The windows has been moved and altered several times but remains of the original 12th-century windows can still be seen.

Henrik Gerner Henrik Gerner (1742–1787) was a Danish naval officer who specialised in shipbuilding and naval architecture. His interests as an entrepreneurial engineer led to unsinkable gun platforms, horse-driven dredging machines, and desalination equipme ...

was appointed as parish priest for Birkerød in 1656. In 1731, Gerhard Hermansen Treschow was appointed as parish priest by queen Sophie Magdalene. In 1876 he left the office when he was appointed as pastor of

Trinitatis Church The Trinitatis Church (''Trinitatis Kirke'') is located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the 17th century Trinitatis Complex, which includes the Rundetårn astronomical observatory tower and the Copenhagen University Library, in ad ...

in Copenhagen.

Furnishings

The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

dates from the late 15th century and was probably imported from North Germany. It was restored in 1899 and reinstalled in the church as a replacement for a later altarpiece painted by Gustav Theodor Wegener (1817–1877) which can now be seen in the north chapel. The pulpit is from circa 1600 and features King

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 and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

's monogram. The five arched niches feature Christ and the four apostles. The font is made of sandstone and was created in 1944 by sculptor Axel Poulsen (1887–1972). On the wall to the west of the pulpit is a painting of

(1629-1700) who was parish priest of Birkerød in 1657-85. In 1659, he was arrested for plotting against the Swedish occupants at

Kronborg Castle Kronborg is a castle and historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was inscribed ...

. He returned to Birkerød and later became bishop of the

Diocese of Viborg The Diocese of Viborg is a diocese within the Church of Denmark, covering the western part of central Jutland. Viborg Cathedral in the city of Viborg serves as the seat of the diocese's bishop. The diocese has the highest ratio of church member ...

. The painting is a copy from 1826 of the original by Flemish painter Karl van Mander (1548–1606) in the Museum of National History at

Frederiksborg Castle Frederiksborg Castle () is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for Christian IV of Denmark, King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by Frederick II ...

. On the railing in front of the organ are six paintings from the middle of the 17th century.

Churchyard

The church is surrounded by a churchyard. It is now supplemented by Birkerød Assistens Cemetery (Søholm Cemetery). Notable burials in the churchyard include: *

Johan Ulrik Bredsdorff Johan may refer to: * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (1921 film), a Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (2005 film), a Dutch romantic comedy film * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Joh ...

(1845-1928), oaubter * Majsa Bredsdorff *

Aage Bretting Aage is a Danish masculine given name and a less common spelling of the Norwegian given name Åge. Variants include the Swedish name Åke. People with the name Aage include: First name * Count Aage of Rosenborg (1887–1940), Danish prince and o ...

, engineer *

Erik Koch Larsen The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

, journalist *

Gustav Kähler Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

, businessman *

Vilhelm la Cour Vilhelm is a masculine given name, the Scandinavian form of William and Wilhelm. Notable people with the name include: * Vilhelm Ahlmann (1852–1928), Danish-Swedish architect * Vilhelm Andersen (1864–1953), Danish author, literary historian an ...

, painter *

Søren Peter Larsen Søren (, ) or Sören (, ) is a Scandinavian given name that is sometimes anglicized as Soren. The name is derived from that of the 4th-century Christian saint Severin of Cologne,Portal Rheinische Geschichte"Severin (circa 330-400), Heiliger und B ...

, politician *

Tage Stentoft Tage is a masculine given name with Danish origins. People with the name include: * Tage Åsén (born 1943), Swedish artist * Tage Aurell (1895–1976), Swedish journalist and novelist * Tage Brauer (1894–1988), Swedish athlete * Tage Danielss ...

, painter *

Carl Wennemoes Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

, painter

Cultural references

Birkerød Church has been used as a location in the feature films ''

Det gælder livet ''This Is Life'' (Danish: ''Det gælder livet'') is a 1953 Danish film directed by Jon Iversen and starring Poul Müller, Lisbeth Movin and Elsebet Knudsen.Piil p.745 Cast * Poul Müller as Arkitekt Olaf Henningsen * Lisbeth Movin as Ella H ...

'' (1953) and ''

En kort, en lang ''Shake It All About'' ( Danish: ''En kort en lang'', literally "A Short ne a Long ne) is a 2001 Danish comedy-drama directed by Hella Joof. It was entered into the 24th Moscow International Film Festival. Plot The film is about gay couple Jør ...

'' (2001).

References

External links

Official website

{{Coord, 55.84078, 12.42980, format=dms, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title Churches in Rudersdal Municipality Churches in the Diocese of Helsingør 12th-century churches in Denmark Birkerød