Holmens Kirke, Copenhagen

Holmens Kirke is a parish church on Holmens Kanal, and its story begins with an unusual earlier life: the building started as an anchor forge in 1563. Christian IV later converted it for naval worship, and Leonhard Blasius shaped the church that followed. The building still preserves the broad form created in that rebuilding, with tile walls resting on a granite foundation and a tall spire whose structure needed repeated reinforcement before ironwork solved the problem in 1930.

Inside, the pulpit installed in 1662 rises from floor to ceiling. Abel Schrøder carved it with scenes from Christian history, and the royal monograms and crowns are gilded. It is Copenhagen’s oldest preserved pulpit and its most richly decorated.

The organ façade dates from an instrument installed in 1738, although the instrument itself was replaced in 1956. A ship model hanging from the ceiling represents Niels Juel’s vessel Christianus Quintus. This church also carries a remarkable royal connection: Margrethe and Prince Henrik were married here in 1967. Niels Juel, Peter Tordenskjold, and composer Niels Wilhelm Gade are buried here, while works by Bertel Thorvaldsen and Karel van Mander enrich the church.