Frederik’s Church in Copenhagen

16 April 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - RAYANDBEE/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – RAYANDBEE/cc-by-2.0

Frederik’s Church (Frederiks Kirke), popularly known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken) for its rococo architecture, is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Copenhagen, Denmark. The church forms the focal point of the Frederiksstaden district; it is located due west of Amalienborg Palace. The church was designed by the architect Nicolai Eigtved in 1740 and was along with the rest of Frederiksstaden, a district of Copenhagen, intended to commemorate the 300 years jubilee of the first coronation of a member of the House of Oldenburg. Frederick’s Church has the largest church dome in Scandinavia with a span of 31m. The dome rests on 12 columns. The inspiration was probably St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.   read more…

Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen

15 November 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  18 minutes

Amalienborg Palace and Opera House Copenhagen in the background © flickr.com - Rob Deutscher/cc-by-2.0

Amalienborg Palace and Opera House Copenhagen in the background © flickr.com – Rob Deutscher/cc-by-2.0

Amalienborg is the home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard; in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg’s founder, King Frederick V. Amalienborg was originally built for four noble families; however, when Christiansborg Palace burned on 26 February 1794, the royal family bought the palaces and moved in. Over the years various kings and their families have resided in the four different palaces. The Amalie Garden (Danish: Amaliehaven) is located between the waterfront and Amalienborg Slotsplads. Established in 1983, it was a gift from the A.P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation to the citizens of Copenhagen. The two-level garden was designed by Belgian architect Jean Delogne. It features marble sculptures and a central fountain designed by Italian Arnaldo Pomodoro. It is owned jointly by the Danish state and the municipality of Copenhagen, and maintained by the Palaces and Properties Agency. The short axis on which Amalienborg lies, Frederiksgade (English: Frederik’s Street) has been much discussed due to construction the building of the Copenhagen Opera House in 2001–04. Aligned on the short axis is the Frederik’s Church (Danish: Frederikskirke), commonly known as The Marble Church (Danish: Marmorkirken). The equestrian statue of King Frederik V was commissioned by Moltke, as Director for the Danish Asiatic Company, and it was made by French sculptor Jacques-Francois-Joseph Saly. Work began in 1753, and the foundation stone was laid in place in 1760 at the 100-year celebration of political absolutism in Denmark. The statue was finally unveiled in 1771, five years after King Frederik V’s death in 1766.   read more…

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