Swedish Gustaf's Church (), part of the

Church of Sweden Abroad The Church of Sweden Abroad (, SKUT) is an institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden. The Church of Sweden Abroad has more than 40 parishes throughout the world, concentrated in Western Europe. Another 80 cities are served by visitin ...

, is the church of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

congregation 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 ...

. It was built between 1907 and 1911 to the design of the Swedish architect Theodor Wåhlin (1864–1948) and is named after King

Gustaf V of Sweden Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...

History

The Swedish Church's activities in Copenhagen began in 1901 when Pastor Nils Widner was sent there to work among Swedish sailors. The work, however, soon embraced the many thousands of other Swedes in and around Copenhagen. Religious services were initially held in the Garrison Church on

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 ...

, and in rented premises in Rysenstensgade there were daily gatherings in the various compounds that eventually formed. Copenhagen 0895

The need for a church grew, and in 1903 the Swedish Church Society was formed which saw it as its task to realize the construction of a Swedish church in Copenhagen. Swedes who then lived in Copenhagen decided to donate 10

øre Øre (plural ''øre'', , ) is the centesimal subdivision of the Danish and Norwegian krone. The Faroese division is called the ''oyra'', but is equal in value to the Danish coin. Before their discontinuation, the corresponding divisions of the ...

per week to finance the church building and the Swedish architect Theodor Wåhlin, resident architect at

Lund Cathedral Lund Cathedral () is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archiepiscopal see of all ...

, was charged with its design. As had been the case with St. Alban's English Church two decades earlier, a site was provided by the Danish state on the bank of the moat surrounding Kastellet, although on the opposite, north-western, corner, on the site of the former Grønlands Bastion. The foundation stone was laid in 1908 at a ceremony attended by both the Swedish and Danish royal couples, and the new church was consecrated in 1911. The Danish architect Gotfred Tvede (1863–1947) supervised the construction, assisted by Hans Alfred Jørgen Jørgensen (1878–1923).

Architecture

The church is designed in the

Jugendstil (; "Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany, Austria and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German and Austrian cou ...

style and is built in a hard-burnt brownish brick. The complex includes church halls, a community centre, offices, a rectory, staff houses, archives and storage rooms. The exterior wall contains a relief designed by the Danish artist Henrik Starcke (1899–1973).

Furnishings

The current organ has 31 stops and was installed in 1947. The pulpit was created by the sculptor Niels Hansen in Copenhagen. The altar is of black

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

and has the

christogram A Christogram () is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbolism, religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the C ...

''IHS'', usually interpreted as ''Iesus, Hominum Salvator'' – "Jesus, Savior of man".

Gallery

Nordenskirker Gustaf(11).jpg, Altar Gustafskyrkan; series pastorum.jpg, Series pastorum Gustafskyrkan; interiör.JPG, Interior Nordenskirker Gustaf(16).jpg, Pulpit

References

External links