Reformed Church ( Danish: ''Reformert Kirke'') in

Gothersgade Gothersgade (; see #The name, below) is a major street in the Indre By, City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends from Kongens Nytorv to The Lakes, Copenhagen, Sortedam Lake, passing Rosenborg Castle and Rosenborg Castle Gardens, Gardens, Nø ...

, opposite

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle () is a renaissance castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, t ...

, is a church building used by the

reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

congregations 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 ...

. Consecrated in 1689, the church was instigated by Queen Charlotte Amalie, consort of 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 ...

, who was herself a German

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

. The church is noted for its fine

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 ...

interiors which date from 1730 when it was restored after being damaged 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 ...

History

Prior to her marriage to King

Christian V of Denmark 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 dec ...

in 1667,

Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (27 April 1650 – 27 March 1714) was Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian V. Although she did not have much political influence, she was a successful businesswoman in her many estates and p ...

had requested, and had been granted for herself and her court, the right to profess freely her

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

faith. In 1685, encouraged by his queen, Christian V licensed the formation of a reformed congregation among German, Dutch and French immigrants. Mainly refugees, many members of the congregation held prominent positions in society, typically as merchants, craftsmen, often with new trades, or military officers. After a few years the congregation split into a ''German Reformed Church'' and a ''French Reformed Church''. Charlotte Amelia also personally financed the erection of the church building on a prominent site in

, opposite

. The architect was Hendrik Brokhamm, a Dutch sculptor who had recently arrived in Denmark and later worked with

Lambert van Haven Lambert van Haven (16 April 1630 - 9 May 1695) was a Danish-Norwegian architect, master builder and painter. He was born in Bergen, the son of the artist Solomon van Haven who had already succeeded in winning the favour of the Danish-Norwegian mo ...

, for instance on the Church of Our Saviour at

Christianshavn Christianshavn () is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour, ...

where he executed the main portal. Charlotte Amalie placed the foundation stone on 20 April 1688, and the building was consecrated on 10 November 1689. The German and French reformed churches shared the new church. The complex also included a rectory, with residences for four priests, a school, an old age asylum, and an orphanage. The church was badly damaged in the

but was subsequently rebuilt with new furnishings attributed the sculptor Friederich Ehbisch (c. 1672–1748). In 1886 the 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 ...

built a community house for the congregation (''menighedshus'') and a multi-storey building and in 1880 he conducted a restoration of the church.

Architecture

The church is built in red brick and designed in the Dutch Baroque style. It has a rectangular floor plan with a slightly progressing median risalit on the facade toward Gothersgade, decorated with Ionic

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s and a triangular pediment. Above the entrance there is a

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with the monograms of Christian V and Charlotte Amalie and an inscription from

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

2.3. The

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...

with black tiles is topped by a copper-clad

flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: * Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire * Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition * Flèche (fencing), an aggressive offensive fencing technique * Flèche (fortification), a defensive work *, ships of ...

with two lanterns which rises 13.5 metres above the roof. It was added in 1731 in connection with the rebuilding after the fire.

Interior

The church room is oriented along the short axis of the building and is dominated by beautifully carved wooden features. Typical of reformed but unusual for Danish churches, it has a centrally placed pulpit set dramatically high above the altar table. The organ front was originally from

Copenhagen Castle Copenhagen Castle () was a castle on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in the late 14th century and was located at the site of the current Christiansborg Palace. History In 1167, Bishop Absalon (c. 112 ...

and dates from 1724. It was transferred to the church in 1730 when the castle was demolished to make room for the first Christiansborg Palace. The current organ was made by the organ manufacturer ''Köhne'' and is from 1878. The church's closed boxes were reserved for noble families and later the wealthy merchants of the congregation.

Churchyard

The churchyard next to the church has been decommissioned. The original German section to the left of the entrance has no graves left but the French section to the right still has 18 graves and the shared churchyard to the rear also has a number of gravestones, including that of Vice Admiral Olfert Fischer the son of Dutch immigrants, who was one of the Danish commanders in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. Other interments include the Danish Court Painter

Jacques d'Agar ''Jacques d'Agar'' (Danish: ''Jacob d'Agar''; 9 March 1640 – 16 November 1715) was a French portrait painter born in Paris. He was a pupil of Jacob Ferdinand Voet. He began his career as a history painter, but soon abandoned it for portraiture, ...

who immigrated from France, and C. de Cormaillon, commander of Kastellet.

Burials

* Antoine-Nicolas le Sage de Fontenay (1725—1787), naval officer * Olfert Fischer (1747–1820), naval officer * Urban Jürgensen (1776–1830), clockmaker

Reformed Church today

The church is still used by the German and French Reformed Churches in Copenhagen and since 1990 also by a

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n congregation. Along with a fourth congregation in

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

, they form the Reformed Synod of Denmark which is a member of the

World Alliance of Reformed Churches The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) was a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin. Its headquarters was in Geneva, Switzerland. They merged with the ...

. The church and churchyard is open every Wednesday and Thursday from 11:30 to 15:30 from spring to autumn.

References

External links

Official website
of the French Reformed Church (in Danish)
French emigrants in Copenhagen
{{Copenhagen churches 1689 establishments in Denmark Churches completed in 1689 Churches in Copenhagen Listed religious buildings and structures in Denmark

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 ...