Jesuskirken
 
Columns of granite from Stångehuvud in Köpenhamn

The column to the left is of polished granite from Stångehuvud.

In the Valby district in the western part of Copenhagen the unique Jesuskirken (Jesus Church) is situated. It was built in the late 1800s on behalf of the brewer Carl Jacobsen (1842-1914), owner of the Carlsberg brewery. The church is known for its many beautiful granite columns of diverse kinds and has several burnished columns of granite originating from Stångehuvud.

It was Carl Jacobsen's desire that Jesuskirken would be the most beautiful church in Copenhagen. Inspiration for the style of the church was found in Italy. Carl had travelled to Italy with his father, the Carlsberg brewery founder J.C. Jacobsen, for educational purposes in the 1850´s and 1860´s. They studied art and monuments of antiquity, including those in Ravenna in northern Italy. 

Architect Vilhelm Dahlerup (1836-1907) was commissioned in 1882 and planned a classical church with separate towers. Dahlerup thus put his own artistic stamp on the church building design.

Construction of the church began in 1884. By 1889 it was under cover. Jesuskirken was inaugurated in November 15 1891 by the Bishop of Själland Juul Bruun Fog. The separate church tower with its four bells was built a few years later and was completed in 1895. The tower is called the Campanile after the Italian "campana" meaning clock. 

Many churches have the cardinal points east-west with the altar facing east and the tower and the entrance west. However, for Jesuskirken it was for reasons of space not possible to build in that fashion. In order to make the beautiful facade as visible as possible in the surrounding area, the church was built south-north with the altar facing south and the entrance north. The church is 50 meters long and almost 18 meters wide. The tower has a height of 52 meters.
Jesuskirken stands in a class of its own in the history of Danish church building, not least for the interior with its countless varieties of beautiful simplicity. The facade is of red brick, and even at the stately entrance there are several examples of what is a hallmark of the church interior: beautiful stone columns of varying design.

There are 82 columns in the church. Most bearing columns are made of granite. Many of them are from Sweden and some of them from Bornholm. Many are highly polished and of varying colours. Several of the widest columns have beautiful relief patterns.
Ten of the columns are of polished granite from Stångehuvud. The typical coarse reddish granite type of Lysekil is clearly visible. Two of the columns of granite from Stångehuvud are found in the lower level of the church and eight in the front part of the upper level. One of the columns of granite from Stångehuvud appears in the center of the picture to the right.
In the crypt there are eight columns, however, none of these are of granite from Stångehuvud.

The column to fhe left is made of granite from Stångehuvud, whereas the column to the right consists of granite from Graversfors with typical bluish quartz.

Several granite columns in Jesuskirken are from Graversfors, located just over ten kilometres to the north of Norrköping in Östergötland. Both red and black granite were produced in Graversfors. One type that is represented in Jesuskirken is coarser and reddish granite with a typical bluish quartz. Graversfors-granite with bluish quartz is also present in the Parliament House and the Governor´s  House in Stockholm.
There is also black granite from Graversfors to be seen in several of the highly-polished columns of Jesuskirken. 

More facts about Jesuskirken
The church can seat over 600 visitors. It is one of the churches in Denmark that has the most baptisms and marriages. The church is also known for its rich musical life. Carl Jacobsen's wish was that the church would resound with beautiful music, and the acoustics in the church are good. The church also has two very fine organs. Jesuskirken was built as a mausoleum for Carl Jacobsen and his family. In the crypt under the church are the family's sarcophagi.

Read more about Jesuskirken (the homepage of Jesuskirken).

To the 125 years of jubilee in 2016 a book about Jesuskirken has been written. It was presented in 15 November, at the day 125 years after the inauguration.

 
Read more here.

Pictures of Jesuskirken from June 2014. Thanks to priest Frank Bjørn Christensen and journalist Erik Udsen, Valby, Copenhagen, who showed the church and gave interesting information about it.

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