Grundtvigs Kirke, Copenhagen

Grundtvigs Kirke is a church dedicated to Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig, the Danish philosopher, pastor and hymn writer. Its powerful façade rises like a monumental organ, with a 49 m bell tower and a surface that seems to ripple in brick. The architect was Peder Vilhelm Jensen Klint, whose design combines Gothic verticality with modern geometric forms.

He won the church commission in 1913, and the foundation stone was laid on Grundtvig’s birthday, 8 September 1921. Inside, the restrained space is built from about five million yellow bricks and can hold a congregation of 1,440. At the western end, the great organ has 55 stops, and its longest pipe measures 11 m and weighs 425 kg. The church’s striking character comes from the way traditional church forms become monumental through brick, height and almost complete lack of ornament.