Frederik's Church / The Marble Church

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King's prestige church becomes businessman's monument

By Rasmus Vestergaard , Mag.art. og cand.phil i kunsthistorie (12 stories)

Frederik's Church is also called the Marble Church. This 79-metre tall domed church between Store Kongensgade and Bredgade in Copenhagen is a famous feature of the area. The church is at one end of the axis that traverses Amalienborg and the harbour and ends at the new Opera House. Frederik's Church is a centralised church with an outer diameter of about 50 metres. The church building was initiated in 1749 by King Frederik V. The King wished to build a monumental royal church of marble – hence its nickname The Marble Church. Sadly, the money ran out in 1770 and work stopped until 1874-94 when it was completed based on new plans. Industrial magnate Carl Frederik Tietgen financed the new building.

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Tietgen saves the Marble Church

Story written by Rasmus Vestergaard

Time / Periode 1874 1894

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In 1870 its future is safe. Financial and industrial magnate Carl Frederik Tietgen has bought the site of the Marble Church. He is looking forward to finishing the church that has been standing for the past century as a 19-metre or so ruin. He wants to create both a folklore monument" to the present royal family and a "Grundtvigian Cathedral". Tietgen and his wife both belong to the Grundtvigian branch of the national Lutheran church. He also plans to build flats around the church. He was able to buy the site because the Constitution of 1849 had made the church site state property. The church can be expected to be a monument to the builder. But that doesn't change the fact that Tietgen is shouldering a task that was beyond the realm of possibility for the royal family. "