Sædden Church () is a church of the

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 ...

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

in the southwest of

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 ...

, Denmark. 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 ...

, the almost cube-shaped building with a tall, free-standing bell tower was completed and consecrated in 1978.

Architecture

Located in the

Sædding Sædding is a district of Esbjerg in southwest Jutland, Denmark, some northwest of the centre and southeast of Hjerting. History Once a village, Sædding (originally ''Sæthum'', later also ''Sæddæn'') has now become a district of Esbjerg. In ...

neighbourhood northwest of Esbjerg's centre, the church is built entirely of red brick, with wave-shaped folds on the north and east walls. There are galleries on the other two walls. The complex also consists of parish rooms and administrative offices. The free-standing tower is strangely shaped with a round base and a square top.

Interior

The square-shaped interior is contained within plain brick walls. Daylight enters from the top of the tall, folds in the walls and from the ceiling, supplemented by 803 electric bulbs which hang from high above. The effect is such that the altar is the most highly illuminated feature in the church. The pews are positioned around the altar and the square-shaped marble

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

. The centrally-placed altar table, also made of white marble thick, stands on two short columns, each individually shaped as in

Solomon's temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...

. A cross designed by Bent Exner hangs above it, its 12 small globes symbolizing the apostles and its central gilded mirror, Jesus. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

in pierced brickwork on the north wall stands below a shell-shaped canopy. For acoustical reasons, it is positioned inside one of the recesses formed by the folds in the wall. The church has seating for 350 of which 100 are on the gallery. The French-inspired

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 ...

organ on the south-wall gallery was designed by the Exners and built by P. Bruhn & Søn of Aarslev. It has 33 stops and 2,250 pipes.

Gallery

File:Nordenskirker Saedden(13).jpg, Pulpit File:Nordenskirker Saedden(12).jpg, Starlights and Organ File:Nordenskirker Saedden(09).jpg, Altar File:Nordenskirker Saedden(07).jpg, Porch/waiting room

References

Literature

External links

Sædden Kirke website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saedden Church Buildings and structures in Esbjerg Churches in Esbjerg Municipality Churches completed in 1978 20th-century Church of Denmark churches Churches in the diocese of Ribe