St. Matthew's Church, Copenhagen

St. Matthew's Church
St. Matthew's Church
	St. Matthew's Church
	55°40′10″N 12°32′53″E / 55.66944°N 12.54806°E
Location	Vesterbro, Copenhagen
Country	Denmark
Denomination	Church of Denmark
History
Status	Church
Architecture
Architect(s)	Ludvig Fenger
Architectural type	Church
Style	Romanesque Revival
Groundbreaking	1879
Completed	1880
Specifications
Capacity	1,000
Materials	Brick
Administration
Archdiocese	Diocese of Copenhagen

St. Mathew's Church (Danish: Sankt Mathæus Kirke) is the oldest and largest church in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located at the corner of Mathæusgade and Valdemarsgade and was completed in 1880 to design by city architect Ludvig Fenger.

History

Background

St, Mathew's Church

The decommissioning of Copenhagen's Bastioned Fortifications was a gradual and prolonged process. When a law in 1868 finally relinquished ownership of the fortifications and lifted the restrictions in the area immediately outside them, new residential districts sprang up outside the four former city gates which had been dismantled in 1868–69. This was also the case with Vesterbro outside the former Western City Gate which developed into a crowded and poor working-class neighbourhood.

Construction

Constructed between 1879 and 1880, St. Matthew's Church was the first church to be built in the area. At that time the parish had around 2,000 inhabitants. Its architect was Ludvig Fenger who had just completed St. James' Church in Østerbro. The building was constructed by master mason Vilhelm Køhler (1839-1802).^[1]

Later history

Up until the mid-1890s, St. Matthew's remained the only church in Vesterbro. At the turn of the 20th century the population had grown to about 7,000.

Architecture

Like many other Danish buildings of its time, St. Matthew's Church is inspired by North Italian Romanesque brick architecture.^[2]

A distinctive feature of the exterior is the many pinnacles along the eaves as well as on the corners of the tower and at the base of the spire.^[2]

Interior

Most of the inventory is designed by Ludvig Fenger, including the organ case. The organ works were created by A. H. Busch & Sønner in 1880. The altarpiece is a mural painted directly on the wall behind the altar by Henrik Olrik depicting the Sermon on the Mount.^[2]

Gallery

Interior
Altar and Altarpiece, full view
Altarpiece
Organ
Font

References

^ "Vilhelm Køhler". Dansk Biogradisk Leksikon (in Danish). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Matthæuskirkens historie". St. Mathæus Kirke. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-12-30.

External links

[1] "Vilhelm Køhler". Dansk Biogradisk Leksikon (in Danish). Retrieved 4 August 2023.

[Historie-2] "Matthæuskirkens historie". St. Mathæus Kirke. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-12-30.

[1]

[2]