Brønshøj Church is a

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church ( , or unofficially ; ), sometimes called the Church of Denmark, is the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The supreme secular authority of the church is composed of ...

parish church in

Brønshøj Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark. History The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated ...

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 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 ...

History

The church was built in the 1180s in the

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

by bishop

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of De ...

using chalk

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

. Its original dedication was to

saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

and it first appears in the written record under that name in two papal letters of 21 October 1186 and 25 March 1193, stating that Absalon owned a 'bol' in Brønshøj and was the church's patron. A redbrick Gothic tower was added around 1450, a porch in 1892 and a sacristy in 1942. During the Swedish occupation of 1658, the church's interior was destroyed and the building used as an armoury and weapons store. Its 1587 altarpiece and its font were both preserved, though the rest of the church furniture was lost - the current

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

pulpit dates from 1678. The British also camped in the church's cemetery in 1807 during the battle of Copenhagen. After its parish became part of the

Copenhagen Municipality Copenhagen Municipality (), also known in English language, English as the Municipality of Copenhagen, located in the Capital Region of Denmark, is the largest of the four municipalities that constitute the City of Copenhagen (), the other three ...

in 1901, it became the oldest building in the municipality. The church passed to private ownership on 1 October 1934.

Cultural references

The church and cemetery has been used as a location in the films '' Min søsters børn på bryllupsrejse'' (1967), '' Zappa'' (1983) ''

Max pinlig ''Max Pinlig'' (Danish for ''Max Embarrassing'') is a 2008 Danish film directed by from a screenplay by Tommy Bredsted, Mette Horn and Lotte Svendsen, based on the Danish children's tv series ''Max'' that aired on DR1 from 2007 to 2008.

'' (2008).

Sources

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brønshøj Church 1180s Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Churches in the Diocese of Copenhagen Lutheran churches in Copenhagen 12th-century churches in Denmark