Frauenkirche (Copenhagen)
The Frauenkirche ( Danish Vor Frue Kirke or Frue Kirke [ ˈfʀuːə ˈkiʀgə ]) of Copenhagen , also Copenhagen Cathedral (Danish Københavns Domkirke ), is the main church of the diocese of Copenhagen of the Danish People's Church . It was designed by the architect Christian Frederik Hansen in the classical style and completed in 1829.
history
Middle Ages: religious center and coronation church
At the location of the structure, the Frue Plads between Nørregade and Fiolstræde, previous sacred buildings had been erected since the Middle Ages. However, all fires fell victim.
Already for the time of Bishop Absalon there is evidence of a small church at the site, which at that time was the highest point in the city. However, with the increased importance of Copenhagen, a larger building became necessary. Construction began in the 1180s and was completed in 1209 with the consecration by Absalon's successor, Peder Sunesen . The new church was dedicated to Saint Mary . The presumed date of the solemnity, the Annunciation , is still celebrated today as the anniversary of the Church.
Belonging to the diocese of Roskilde, the new church enjoyed a status that hardly lagged behind the importance of the cathedral in Roskilde . Accordingly, a large number of clergymen were present at the Copenhagen Church. The attached seminar initially housed the university, founded in 1479, before it was given its own premises. The first university chancellor was also the dean of the cathedral.
The church was damaged so early by a fire that it had to be rebuilt from scratch: after the fire of 1314, a new building was made from a more durable material, brick .
In 1363 Margaret I married the Norwegian king Haakon VI. to be celebrated. In the centuries that followed, the Frauenkirche served as the coronation church of the Danish monarchs ( 1449 , 1536 , 1559 , 1596 , 1648 ).
Reformation period: bulwark of Catholicism and center of Protestantism
At Christmas 1530, indignant citizens stormed the church, which was seen as a bastion of Catholicism amid the spread of Protestantism. Property damage occurred. In 1536 the Frauenkirche became a Lutheran house of worship in two ceremonial acts. The ceremony was chaired by Johannes Bugenhagen , a companion of Martin Luther . Bugenhagen was to consecrate two new bishops in the church three years later.
In 1568, after disputes over the liturgy , it was decided that the celebrations in the cathedral should be decisive for all services in the young Protestant church in Denmark.
Devastation in the Napoleonic Wars
In the city fire of 1728, the Frauenkirche was destroyed along with five other churches and many other buildings. The Frauenkirche was restored in barely ten years, but the successor building was not destined to be durable: During an attack by the British fleet in 1807, the tower was hit by a Congreve rocket . He fell on the nave, which then burned out.
Modern era: new construction in the classical style
Christian Frederik Hansen, who was also responsible for the new construction of the municipal building in the vicinity, was commissioned with a new building. The Frauenkirche was the first church to be restored after the destruction of the war.
When planning CF Hansen included the remains of the previous building, as building materials and funds were scarce in defeated Denmark. Instead of a reconstruction, a completely new church was built in the Greco-Roman inspired “modern style”. In 1817 King Friedrich VI. the foundation stone, and at Pentecost 1829 the building was handed over to its intended purpose.
As for the Danish state in general, a “golden age” followed for local church life. Bishop Jacob Peter Mynster preached here, and Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse , Emil Hartmann and Niels Wilhelm Gade were organists here.
The funeral services of some famous Danes, including Bertel Thorvaldsen (1844), Hans Christian Andersen (1875) and Søren Kierkegaard (1855) , were held in the important town church . The latter was also a frequent visitor to the Eucharistic celebrations in the Frauenkirche during his lifetime .
When the Diocese of Zealand was divided in 1924 , the church received the status of an episcopal church.
Latest story
In 1977/78 the Frauenkirche was completely renovated and restored to its original simplicity by removing extensions and conversions from the first 150 years. In 1995 she received a new main organ and in 2002 a choir organ .
The cathedral continues to serve as a venue for special ceremonies. This also includes the church celebrations of the royal family. Crown Prince Frederik and Mary Elizabeth Donaldson married here on May 14, 2004 . Most of the time, however, the house continues to serve everyday church life in the form of church services. The morning prayer is broadcast daily by Danmarks Radio on the radio and on the Internet (see web links).
The church building: Hansen's sacred building
The current building, along with other buildings by the architect, is an excellent example of the “Golden Age” of Danish Classicism. The impressive columns and the strict simplicity of the composition are characteristic. It has a length of 83 m and a width of 33 m.
The tower reaches 60 m, it has a flat roof. The large storm bell ( Stormklokken ) weighs 4 tons, making it the largest in the whole country. The smallest of the four bells in the tower is the oldest in the church; it dates from 1490.
A portico with six Doric columns spans the main entrance under the tower . The triangular gable shows John the Baptist preaching to the people.
The main nave is 60 m long and 25 m high. To the left and right of this, corridors in the side aisles lead along the outer wall, from which the benches on the side of the main aisle can be reached. Above this there are galleries with further pews. In total, the church offers space for more than 1,100 people.
The church is comparatively sparse with portraits. The larger-than-life marble statues of the twelve apostles along the walls of the main nave and the figure of Christ in the apse are significant . They were created by Bertel Thorvaldsen , who was inspired to make this sculpture by Peter von Cornelius painting The Wise and the Foolish Virgins . A bronze copy of the statue stands in front of the Friedenskirche Potsdam . A zinc-cast copy of Thorvaldsen's baptismal angel from the Frauenkirche is in the Martin Luther Church in Gütersloh . Bertel Thorvaldsen's bust from the hand of Herman Wilhelm Bissen is in a side aisle.
The Blessing Christ , iconographically a novelty at the time, was one of the most copied statues in Europe in the 19th century and is particularly popular in cemeteries.
In the side aisles there are also portraits of various clergymen who worked at the church.
supporting documents
Web links
- Official website (Danish, English)
- Frauenkirche (Copenhagen). In: Structurae
- Danmarks Radio: morning prayer on the web (daily 8:05 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. except Sundays; Danish)
Individual evidence
- ^ The Metropolitan Museum of Art: German Masters of the Nineteenth Century: Paintings and Drawings from the Federal Republic of Germany , Harry N. Abrams, New York 1981, ISBN 0-87099-263-5 , p. 84
Coordinates: 55 ° 40 ′ 45.6 ″ N , 12 ° 34 ′ 21 ″ E