The Church of the Holy Spirit ( Danish: Helligåndskirken) in

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 ...

, is one of the city's oldest churches.

History

Background

The first

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

was a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery founded in 1238, just 12 years after the death of

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

. Prior to that, Archbishop Eskil had founded two

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monasteries, Esrom Abbey and

Herrevad Abbey Herrevad Abbey () was a Cistercian monastery near Ljungbyhed in Klippan Municipality, Scania, in the south of present-day Sweden, but formerly in Denmark until 1658. It is now a country house known as Herrevad Castle (). History Herrevad A ...

. Typically for the order, they had been founded at more remote locations in Northern Zealand and

Skåneland Skåneland is a region on the southern Scandinavian Peninsula. It includes the Sweden, Swedish provinces of Sweden, provinces of Blekinge, Halland, and Skåne, Scania. The Denmark, Danish island of Bornholm is traditionally also included.For pop ...

. At first, the new institution in Copenhagen was more of a hostal and workshop for travelling monks than a monastery proper. It was expanded on a number of occasions and remained the only monastery and a central part of the city's life for the next 250 years.

Hospital of the Holy Spirit

In 1296, a hospital was built by Roskilde Bishop Johannes Krag who was member of the powerful Krag-Hvide noble family. Johannes Krag's strict rule over the city had brought its population to an uprising. They attempted to storm

Bishop's Palace A bishop's palace is a form of ecclesiastical architecture constituting the official residence of a bishop.The term was not used in the British Isles until the Church of England was restructured following the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD. However, th ...

Slotsholmen Slotsholmen (English language, English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Indre By, Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Absal ...

and as part of a settlement, Krag agreed to build what was known as a '' House of the Holy Ghost''. Such houses were facilities which cared for the sick, the poor and the old, more refuges for the weak and disabled than hospitals in the modern sense of the word. The construction of the new building was to be paid for by the bishop and the citizens in equal shares. For its support, an annual ground rent was assessed all properties. Over the years, the hospital also received its own endowments, mainly of property, which provided income for its support. Next to the hospital a small church was built although it is not known exactly when it was added to the complex.

The abbey

In 1469, King

Christian I Christian I ''(Christiern I)'' (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a German noble and Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he ...

transformed the hospital into an abbey. Later, on his journey to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1474,

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

acknowledged it as an institution under the

Order of the Holy Ghost The Order of the Holy Ghost (also known as Hospitallers of the Holy Spirit) is a Catholic religious order. It was founded in 1180 in Montpellier by Gui of Montpellier, the son of William VII of Montpellier, for the care of the sick by groups of ...

, with Santo Spirito in Rome as inspiration and mother church. The abbey consisted of four wings around a courtyard. Of these the present-day church has evolved from the south wing while the House of the Holy Ghost is the former west wing. Originally the church did not have a tower. Construction of a tower was commenced in 1520 but before long 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 ...

brought things to a standstill and in 1530 the abbey was decommissioned.

The parish church 1537–1728

After the reformation the church was converted into a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. At the initiative of

Christoffer Valkendorff Christoffer Valkendorff (1 September 152517 January 1601) was a Danish-Norwegian statesman and landowner. His early years in the service of Frederick II brought him both to Norway, Ösel and Livland. He later served both as Treasurer and '' St ...

, at that time Governor of Copenhagen, work on the tower was resumed in 1582. Brickwork was continued in another

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers * Chemical bond, t ...

, making the transition between the old and the new part of the tower easily detectable. The tower was topped by a spire mounted in August 1594. It is attributed to

Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder (c. 1550 – 10 May 1601) was a Flemish-Danish architect and sculptor. He worked on a large number of the most important Danish buildings of his time, although the exact scope of his contributions in many cases re ...

although no clear documentation exists.

The parish church 1529–1878

The church burned 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 the 23rd of October 1728. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (me ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Spirit, Copenhagen 15th-century churches in Denmark 1537 establishments in Denmark Churches in the Diocese of Copenhagen Lutheran churches in Copenhagen