Aarhus Cathedral

The Aarhus Cathedral (Danish: Århus Domkirke ) is the largest church building in the Danish city of Aarhus in Jutland. The cathedral is dedicated to the patron of sailors Clement of Rome.

History

The first church of Aarhus was built around 900 of wood. She was the first cathedral of the Diocese of Aros (today Aarhus ) and dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The diocese was founded in 1060 as a suffragan of Viborg. The second cathedral was also built near the present cathedral from 1102 under Bishop Ulfketil as wooden church to house the relics of St. Clement. He was Bishop of Rome and is the patron of sailors, making him especially endearing in Scandinavia.

With the construction of the present church Bishop Peder Vognsen was started in 1190 by the founder. He also donated the cathedral school, even before the actual cathedral was completed. In 1300, the Romanesque brick building was completed. As a building material was brick, a material that in Scandinavia and Northern Germany was very popular. The Bishop's Chair, Ms. transferred from the Church of Our Lady in the cathedral.

1330 burned down the cathedral and the city and the rebuilding of 1449 was not taken until the end in attack. At this time the Gothic style had reached as Denmark. Reconstruction and enlargement of the cathedral began in 1449, the completion of the present church was 1500. 's Cathedral since there is space for 1,200 worshipers.

The Reformation began in 1524 under Hans thousands, the reading of the liturgy was henceforth in Danish. Also, because the majority of the nobility remained Catholic, the Reformation in Aarhus could quickly gain a foothold, although there was significant resistance to the new faith on the part of the bishop. When King Frederik I. died, his Protestant son Christian III. proclaimed on the county council in Viborg as the new king. However, the predominantly Catholic Council of State did not accept the election, which led to a two-year feud with Graf several captures of Catholic Bishops. The last bishop of Aarhus, Ove image, was imprisoned in the summer 1536, the year of the official adoption of the Protestant religion.

When lightning strikes in 1642, the tower went up in flames and was almost completely destroyed. The damage in the interior of the cathedral were thankfully minimal. It was not until the late 1920s, the tower was restored in 1931 and increased to its present height of 93 meters.

Building

The cathedral is 93 meters long and 93 meters high, it is so that both longest and tallest church in Denmark. What is remarkable about the features of the cathedral are the high altar of Bernt Notke and baroque grave times of the Flemish sculptor Thomas Quellinus.

The bell tower has eight bells hanging, the oldest ( " Martin " ) dates from the 13th century. When lightning strikes in 1642 not only the tower, but also some bells were damaged.

Interior and equipment

The interior is painted over 220 m² with frescoes, which come mainly from the period 1470-1520. Until the Reformation, almost the entire church was frescoed. Although many frescoes of the Reformation fell victim to the cathedral still has more frescoes than any other church in Denmark. However, the oldest paintings dating from the old cathedral. The Romanesque paintings in the northwest is the so-called " Lazarus window " and was painted around 1300. Some paintings, such as that of St. Christopher and St. Clement, are the greatest portraits of the country. More frescoes of the Holy Michael and St George and the Dragon on the topic.

The cathedral has only a stained glass window, which was, however, designed in 1926 by the Norwegian artist Emmanuel Vigeland. It is 14 meters high, the largest stained glass windows in Denmark. The window provides three events is: Below is Christ in his grave at Mount Calvary, in the center is the crucified Saviour to see and above Christ stands in the golden light.

The altar was carved from the Lübeck sculptor Bernt Notke and consecrated on Easter Sunday, 1479. He is one of Denmark's national treasures.

The oak pulpit was created in 1588 by Michael of Groningen and shows scenes from the Old and the New Testament.

The baptismal font was created in 1481 from Flensburg bell founder Peter Hansen of copper. It was a gift from Bishop Jens Ivarsen Lange, who already had two years previously donated also the high altar. The base shows the four evangelists; they are represented as people, but with the heads of their associated animals: John with eagle head, Mark with a lion's head, Luke with an ox head, Matthew is the only one who is depicted with a human head. In addition, the font shows scenes from the lives of nine apostles and from the life of Christ: Baptism, Crucifixion, Day of Judgment and Coronation of the Virgin. The other reliefs are no longer identifiable.

The main organ was manufactured in 1730 by the organ builder Lambert Daniel Kastens, a student Arp Schnitger. It was restored several times, enlarged and updated to the latest state of the art. The register comes mainly from Th Frobenius & Sons and were manufactured 1928-2001. With 89 stops, it is the largest church organ in Denmark. The body of the organ is held in the Baroque style.

The Golden Door is one of five bars that separates the choir from the nave. She is seen more as a reminder than real separation, because a few centuries ago, the clergy and the common people were separated within the ( Catholic ) Church. The lattice is provided by the German Kaspar Fincke.

As in many other churches in Denmark depends a model ship at the crossing as a reminder of times when Denmark was still a naval power. The boat is named " Enisgheden " ( German: "Unity " ) and was probably manufactured in the Netherlands. The Russian Tsar Peter the Great had to commission in the Netherlands model warships. On the way to Russia the transport ship came to Skagen in a storm, but the model ship could be saved. Some fishermen acquired the model and offered it as a votive offering to the cathedral. The ship is 2.65 meters long and 3.50 meters high, making it the largest vessel in a Danish church.

The cathedral houses several chapels and tombs, mainly in the Romanesque and Baroque style, and several monuments. The most important is the chapel of the Marcelis family, which was designed by the Flemish sculptor Thomas Quellinus. The altar of the chapel is one of the most important altars of its kind in Denmark.

The crypt of the cathedral houses the remains of thousands of Danes from all strata of society.