Gustaf Church, Copenhagen
Encyclopedia
Gustaf Church, part of the Church of Sweden Abroad
, is the church of the Swedish
congregation in Copenhagen
, Denmark
. It was built from 1807 to 1911 to the design of Theodor Wåhlin and is named after King Gustaf V of Sweden
.
, and in rented premises in Rysenstensgade there were daily gatherings in the various compounds that eventually formed.
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
per week to finance the church building and the Swedish architect Theodor Wåhlin, resident architect at Lund Cathedral
, 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 supervised the construction assisted by Alf Jørgensen.
style and is built in a hard-burnt brownish brick. The complex includes church halls, community center, offices, rectory, staff houses, archives and storage rooms.
and has the christogram
IHS, usually nterpreted as Iesus, Hominum Salvator - "Jesus, Savior of man".
Church of Sweden Abroad
The Church of Sweden Abroad - in Swedish: Svenska kyrkan i utlandet - is accountable to a special committee under the General Synod of the Church of Sweden and is under the episcopal oversight of the Bishop of Visby. SKUT has approximately 45 congregations throughout the world, concentrated in...
, is the church of the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
congregation in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. It was built from 1807 to 1911 to the design of Theodor Wåhlin and is named after King Gustaf V of Sweden
Gustaf V of Sweden
Gustaf V was King of Sweden from 1907. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg...
.
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 PladsSankt Annæ Plads
Sankt Annæ Plads is a public square which marks the border between the Nyhavn area and the Frederiksstaden district in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a long narrow rectangle which extends inland from the waterfront, at a point just north of the Royal Danish Playhouse at the base of the Kvæsthusbroen...
, and in rented premises in Rysenstensgade there were daily gatherings in the various compounds that eventually formed.
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
Øre is the centesimal subdivision of the Norwegian and Danish krones. The Faroese division is called the oyra, but is equal in value to the Danish coin. Before their discontinuation, the corresponding divisions of the Swedish krona and the Icelandic króna were the öre and the eyrir...
per week to finance the church building and the Swedish architect Theodor Wåhlin, resident architect at Lund Cathedral
Lund Cathedral
The Lund Cathedral is the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the bishop of Lund of the Church of Sweden.- History :...
, was charged with its design.
As had been the case with St. Alban's English Church
St. Alban's Church, Copenhagen
St. Alban's Church, locally often referred to simply as the English Church, is an Anglican church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built from 1885 to 1887 for the growing English congregation in the city...
two decades earlier, a site was provided by the Danish state on the bank of the moat surrounding Kastellet
Kastellet, Copenhagen
Kastellet, located in Copenhagen, Denmark is one of the best preserved fortifications in Northern Europe. It is constructed in the form of a pentagram with bastions at its corners...
, 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 supervised the construction assisted by Alf Jørgensen.
Architecture
The church is designed in the JugendstilArt Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style and is built in a hard-burnt brownish brick. The complex includes church halls, community center, offices, rectory, staff houses, archives and storage rooms.
Furnishings
The current organ has 31 steps and was installed in 1947. The pulpit was created by the sculptor Niels Hansen in Copenhagen. The altar is of black graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and has the christogram
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 symbol. Different types of Christograms are associated with the various traditions of Christianity, e.g...
IHS, usually nterpreted as Iesus, Hominum Salvator - "Jesus, Savior of man".