The Garnison Church () is a church at

Sankt Annæ Plads Sankt Annæ Plads (English language, English: St. Ann's Square) is a Town square, public square which marks the border between the Nyhavn area and Frederiksstaden neighborhoods of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a long narrow rectangle which e ...

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 ...

. The Baroque church was erected as a church primarily intended for military personnel stationed in the city.

History

In the 17th century, Copenhagen had become home to a sizeable

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

. A military church was built at Kastellet in 1670, but its modest size only allowed it to serve the personnel at the fortress. The rest of the troops in the city had to use

Church of Holmen The Holmen Church () is a Parish church in central Copenhagen in Denmark, on the street called Holmens Kanal. First built as an anchor forge in 1563, it was converted into a naval church by Christian IV. It is famous for having hosted the weddi ...

, a former anchor forge which had been converted into a naval church in 1619. When

Sophie Amalienborg Sophie Amalienborg was a pleasure palace roughly located where Amalienborg stands today in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built by Queen Consort Sophie Amalie who lived there until her death in 1685 after her husband, King Frederick III, died a few ...

burned down in 1689, its chapel survived the flames and was subsequently put at the disposal of the Army. However, the small building which had been built for members of the royal court only served as a temporary solution. 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 de ...

therefore provided a tract of land at

Dronningens Tværgade Dronningens Tværgade (literal translation, lit. "The Queen's Cross Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which runs from Bredgade to Rosenborg Castle Garden. The street originally formed a link between the King's Garden (Rosenborg ...

for the construction of a new church for the Army and military engineer Georg Philip Müller (ca 1684-ca 1706) completed a set of renderings in 1697. In order to keep down the costs of building the church, materials from Sophie Amalienborg were used. This also applied to the church chapel's furniture. When King Frederick IV ascended the throne in 1699, he moved the project to a site in the southernmost section of Sophie Amalienborg's former gardens. Construction began in 1703, still to Müller's design but under the supervision of

Domenico Pelli Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian arch ...

(1657–1728). The following year it was decided to build the church to a larger and somewhat modified design and the project was taken over by Danish architect Wilhelm Friedrich von Platen (1667–1732). The church was inaugurated on 24 March 1706. The church underwent restoration in 1885 under the direction of architect

Ludvig Knudsen Ludvig Harald Knudsen (18 August 1843 – 16 March 1924) was a Historicist Danish architect. He mainly designed churches. Biography Ludvig Knudsen was born in Copenhagen. He was the son of Jens Christian Knudsen (1801-1856) and Johanne F. J ...

(1843–1924). At that time, a burial chapel was built following drawings by Ludvig Knudsen as a free-standing building in the former cemetery. The interior of the church has been changed, repaired and renewed many times. The interior appearance of the church primarily stems from the renovation of 1954–1961 as it sought to revert to a more original appearance.

Monuments and memorials

Burials

Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann (14 May 1805 – 10 March 1900) was, together with his son-in-law Niels W. Gade, the leading Danish composer of the 19th century, a period known as the Danish Golden Age. According to Alfred Einstein, he was "the rea ...

(1805–1900), composer *

Christian August Lorentzen Christian August Lorentzen (10 August 1749 – 8 May 1828) was a Danish painter. Early life and education Christian August Lorentzen was born in Sønderborg, Denmark. He was the son of Hans Peter Lorentzen and Maria Christina Hansdatter. His ...

(1729–1828), painter * lfert Ricard (1872–1929), writer and priest

References

External links

Garnisonskirken Web site
{{Authority control 1706 establishments in Denmark 18th-century Church of Denmark churches Churches in the Diocese of Copenhagen Lutheran churches in Copenhagen 1700s churches in Denmark