Godthaab Church, Copenhagen

Last updated
Godthaab Church, Copenhagen
Godthaabskirken Copenhagen.jpg
Godthaab Church
Godthaab Church, Copenhagen
55°41′1.5″N12°31′33.5″E / 55.683750°N 12.525972°E / 55.683750; 12.525972
Location51A Nyelandsvej
Frederiksberg, Copenhagen
Country Denmark
Denomination Church of Denmark
Website www.godthaabskirken.dk
History
Status Church
Architecture
Architect(s) Gotfred Tvede
Architectural type Church
Style Neo-Baroque
Groundbreaking 2 October 1909
Completed19 March 1911
Specifications
Materials Brick
Administration
Archdiocese Diocese of Copenhagen

Godthaab Church is a Church of Denmark parish church situated on Nyelandsvej in the northern part of the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Godthaab Parish takes its name from Godthaabsvej, the principal artery of the area.

Contents

History

Classen Terraces and their church

The Classen Terraces in 1868 De Classenske Boliger (1863).jpg
The Classen Terraces in 1868

Godthaab Church traces its history back to 1866 when the charitable foundation Det Classenske Fideicommis acquired a 3 hectares piece of land at the site from the Sindshvile estate. This was done to build residences for indigent workers in the city after the 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak had highlighted the dismal living conditions for this part of the population. From 1866 to 1881 the foundation constructed 24 terraces with a total of 378 residences. They were built in yellow brick in two storeys to designs by Vilhelm Tvede. The development also contained a community house, shops, laundry, an orphanage and its own church which was completed in 1880. At that point the development had 1,288 residents, a number which had increased to 1,655 in 1895. [1]

The Classen Terraces (Danish: De Classenske Boliger) were initially praised and even received attention abroad but as similar projects were built around the city, such as those of the Workers' Building Society, Det Classenske Fideicommis lost interest in the development. Due to the charitable nature of the foundation, it also showed great indulgence towards failure to pay rent and the development gradually became a place for the very poor and fell into neglect. This was in still stronger contrast to the surrounding community and in 1909 Frederiksberg Municipality bought the entire development to demolish it, although housing shortage and lack of economic restraints meant that the last terraces were not pulled down until the late 1950s.

The new church

Gotfred Tvede at the construction site Godthaabskirken med Tvede og Madvig.jpg
Gotfred Tvede at the construction site

In connection with the sale, the foundation reserved a sum of DKK 70,000 for the construction of a new church on a lot donated for the project by H. I Nyeland, a well-to-do farmer.

Godthåb Parish was created on 30 September 1909 and comprised the Classen Terraces as well as parts of Mariendal, St. Luke's and St. Thomas' parishes. The parish, like Godthåbsvej, was named after Store Godthaab, an estate which the entire area had once belonged to.

Classen Church was used as a temporary parish church until the new church was ready. Another DKK 55,000 was raised for the construction by a local church commission and Gotfred Tvede, the son of Vilhelm Tvede, was charged with the design of the new church building. The foundation stone was set on 3 October by provost and later Bishop of Zealand, Ostenfeld.

The church was inaugurated on 19 March 1911.

Architecture

The interior Godthaabskirken Copenhagen interior.jpg
The interior

The church is built in red brick on a granite plinth. It is oriented north-south to fit the location at Nyelandsvej. It has a choir to the south and a tower with a copper-clad, octagonal belfry on the east side of the north gable.

The interior has white-washed walls and a barrel-vaulted ceiling with exposed timber structure. A series of round-arched windows on the west side provides natural light and the choir, raised three steps from the nave, is top lit. There is a gallery above the entrance in the north wall.

Furnishings

The ceramic altartable is the work of Herman Kahler. The interior of the apse features a relief by the sculptor Carl Mortensen depicting Christ on the Cross, surrounded by worshipping angles.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuglsang Manor</span> Building in Lolland, Denmark

Fuglsang is a 19th-century manor house now operated by Det Classenske Fideicommis as a cultural centre as an active agricultural estate at Toreby on the island of Lolland, in southeastern Denmark. The estate was owned by members of the de Neergaard family from 1819 to 1947. The main building serves as a venue for classical concerts and other cultural activities. The cultural centre also includes Fuglsang Art Museum, located in a purpose-built building designed by British architect Tony Fretton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Luke's Church, Copenhagen</span> Church in Copenhagen, Denmark

St. Luke's Church is a Church of Denmark church located in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Completed in 1897 to the design of Valdemar Koch, who also built several other churches in Copenhagen around that time, it is the second oldest church in Frederiksberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elijah's Church</span> Church in Copenhagen, Denmark

Elijah's Church is a Church of Denmark parish church located on Vesterbros Torv in the heart of the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Completed in 1908 and designed by Martin Nyrop, who has designed Copenhagen City Hall, it was the largest church to be built by the Copenhagen Church Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corselitze</span> Manor house in Denmark

Corselitze, or Korselitse, is a manor house on the island of Falster in the south-east of Denmark. The Neoclassical house was built in 1777 by Johan Frederik Classen, who at the time of his death founded Det Classenske Fideicommis, which owns the estate today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arresødal</span>

Arresødal is a manor estate situated in Frederiksværk, in Halsnæs Municipality on the island of Zealand in Region Hovedstaden, northeastern Denmark. Surrounded by forest to the west of lake Arresø, it now functions as a private hospice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak</span> Cholera outbreak in Denmark

The 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak was a severe outbreak of cholera which occurred in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1853 as part of the third cholera pandemic. It killed about 4,800 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hesnæs</span> Village in Zealand, Denmark

Hesnæs is a little fishing village located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of Stubbekøbing on the Danish island of Falster. Its distance from Copenhagen is 125.4 km. It is best known for its thatched, straw-clad houses, not found elsewhere in Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corselitze Forest</span> Forest on the Danish island of Falster

Corselitze Forest is located on the Danish island of Falster. Situated in the northeast of the island, it contains white pine plantations, although beech is the most common tree species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Frederik Classen</span>

Johan Frederik Classen, frequently also J. F. Classen, was a Danish-Norwegian industrialist, major general, landowner and founder of Det Classenske Fideicommis. He served as chancellery adviser to King Frederik V. Classen built the manor house Arresødal in 1773, he renovated the Neoclassical manor house Corselitze in 1777, and built the General's Summerhouse by the Corselitze Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classen Library</span>

The Classen Library was a public library in Copenhagen, Denmark, created from the private book collection of Johan Frederik Classen at the time of his death in 1792. It was the third largest library in the city, surpassed only by the Royal Danish Library and Copenhagen University Library and existed until 1867 when it was merged with the latter.

Det Classenske Fideicommis is a Danish charitable foundation. By testament in 1789 and his codicil of March 23, 1792, the industrialist Major General Johan Frederik Classen left behind his wealth and possessions as a fund, among other things, to "alleviate poverty and misery". It grants about 2 million kroner ($340,000) annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hersleb Classen</span> Norwegian-Danish statesman

Peter Hersleb Classen, frequently also P. H. Classen, was a Norwegian-Danish statesman and director of Det Classenske Fideicommis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vilhelm Tvede</span> Danish architect

Frederik Vilhelm Tvede was a Danish architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godthåbsvej</span>

Godthåbsvej is a street in the northwestern part of Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins at Bülowsvej in Frederiksberg as the direct continuation of Rosenørns Allé/Rolighedsvej and passes through Vanløse before reaching Bellahøj in Brønshøj. A metro station on the Copenhagen Metro City Circle Line is located at Aksel Møllers Have.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyelandsvej</span> Street in Copenhagen, Denmark

Nyelandsvej is a street in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Falkoner Allé in the southeast to a roundabout at the north end of Dalgas Boulevard in the northwest. The more urban, eastern part of the street, between Falkoner Allé and Nordre Fasanvej, separates an area with Copenhagen Business School's Solbjerg Campus and Frederiksberg Centret to the south from the Svømmehal Quarter to the north. The western part of the street is passes the multi-purpose venue Keddelhallen and Frederiksberg Hospital before entering an area with Single-family detached homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan von Osten House</span>

The Jan von Osten House is a listed Baroque style property at the corner of Amaliegade and Toldbodgade in the Frederiksstaden neighbourhood of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The building was the city home of Johan Frederik Classen from 1770. On his death. it was endowed to the Det Classenske Fideicommis which was headquartered in the building until 1970. The building was listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English Terrace (Toldbodgade)</span>

The English Terrace at Toldbodgade 71– 87 is a row of consecutive terraced houses in the Frederiksstaden neighbourhood of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The terrace was built in 1873–74 to design by Vilhelm Tvede for Det Classenske Fideicommis. It is listed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aksel Møllers Have</span>

Aksel Møllers Have is a public greenspace and early Modernist housing estate located at Godthåbsvej 35–41 in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. One of the stations on Copenhagen Metro's City Circle Line is located on the square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classensgade</span>

Classensgade is a street in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Østerbrogade in the southwest to Østbanegade in the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grønnessegaard</span>

Grønnessegaard is a manor house and estate located just east of Hundested in Halsnæs Municipality, Denmark, some 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest of Copenhagen. The estate was established by Johan Frederik Classen in 1776. The two-storey main building is from 1859.

References

  1. "Kirkens historie" (in Danish). Godthåbskirken. Archived from the original on 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2012-11-28.