St Paul's Church () is a parish church in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

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 was completed in 1887 to a design by Vilhelm Theodor Walther in the

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style.

Description

Located at the end of the slightly inclined M. P. Bruunsgade, the church was designed by Vilhelm Theodor Walther,

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 ...

's royal inspector of buildings, on land which was donated by the textile manufacturer Mads Pagh Bruun on condition the church should look towards the town. As a result, the robust, red brick building with twin towers bearing pyramidal spires has a facade facing north rather than west. The design is based on that of a Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

with a long high

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, slightly lower

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s and an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. The round-arched windows and doors are indicative of the Romanesque approach."Sankt Pauls Kirke, Århus"
, arkark.dk. Retrieved 15 December 2012."Århus by: Nyere Kirker"
''Danmarkskirker''. Retrieved 15 December 2012. In 1978, a

parish hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church architecture, church, generally for community and Charitable organization, charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the ...

was attached to the church in a manner similar to that of the Oude Kerk in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

which also has buildings attached to its structure. It was designed by

Inger and Johannes Exner Inger Augusta Exner, Hon. FAIA (born 20 August 1926, Randers) and Johannes Exner, Hon. FAIA (born 25 March 1926, Hald near Randers; died 16 May 2015) were a Danish couple who cooperated closely as architects. They met at high school and studied ...

as a fan-shaped attachment with a meeting room, confirmation classrooms and offices. It is connected to the apse by means of a foyer with a glazed roof. Built of sharp-edged brick matching the masonry of the church, it is covered with a saddle roof.

Interior

The altar painting (1897) depicting Paul on the road to Damascus is the work of Herman Siegumfeldt (1833-1912). Since the church's completion, a gallery was added in 1900. A baptismal bowl (no longer in use), from the second half of the 16th century, is in silver-plated brass. Crafted in the south of Germany, the centre of the bowl presents a scene of the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

, bordered by floral decorations. The rim is decorated with stars and

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

Church choir

The church choir, known as Sct. Pauls Cantori, consists mainly of young singers studying at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus or at

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

. They have frequently performed with professional orchestras including the Randers Chamber Orchestra."Sct. Pauls Cantori"
Sct. Pauls Kirke. Retrieved 15 December 2012.

References

External links

St Paul's Church from Dansk Architektur Guide
with illustrations {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul's Church, Aarhus Lutheran churches in Aarhus Churches completed in 1887 Romanesque Revival church buildings in Denmark 19th-century Church of Denmark churches Churches in the Diocese of Aarhus