The Alexander Nevsky Church ( da, Skt. Aleksander Nevskij Kirke) is the only

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

church in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

. It was built by the

Russian Government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russ ...

between 1881 and 1883, prompted by Princess Dagmar of Denmark's marriage to Alexander Alexandrovich on 9 November 1866 and their later ascent to the Russian throne as Tsar

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...

and Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna. The church is dedicated to the Russian

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Gran ...

History

From the middle of the 18th century, the Russian delegation held services in Copenhagen, first in a small chapel in Laksegade and later in

Store Kongensgade Store Kongensgade ( lit. English. Great King's Street) is the longest street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends northeast from Kongens Nytorv to Esplanaden, running parallel to Bredgade, where it breaks left, continuing northwest to Grø ...

. The Alexander Nevsky Church was built from 1881 to 1883 by the Russian government;

Tsar Alexander III Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...

personally provided funds for the construction, a project prompted by his Danish-born wife Maria Feodorovna, a daughter of

Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...

. The acquisition of the site on

Bredgade Bredgade ( lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major str ...

(Broad Street) was arranged by

Carl Frederik Tietgen Carl Frederik Tietgen (19 March 1829 – 19 October 1901) was a Danish financier and industrialist. He played an important role in the industrialisation of Denmark as the founder of numerous prominent Danish companies, many of which are still ...

and it has been reported that the Tsar disapproved of the selected location for religious reasons, since tradition called for a free-standing building. The church was designed by Russian architect David Ivanovich Grimm who was a professor at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thr ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. His project had previously been chosen among 15 entries in architectural competition. The Danish architect Albert Nielsen was charged with the practical execution of the building under supervision of

Ferdinand Meldahl Ferdinand Meldahl (16 March 1827 – 3 February 1908) was a Danish architect best known for the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle after the fire in 1859. Meldahl was one of the leading proponents of historicism in Denmark. Biography He was ...

. In September 1883 Provost Yanysev, Chancellor of the

Theological Academy in St. Petersburg The Saint Petersburg Theological Academy (russian: Санкт-Петербургская духовная академия) is a theological seminary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The academy grants master and doctorate degrees preparing theologi ...

, came to Copenhagen to

consecrate Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

the church, assisted by the congregation's priest and a monk from

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...

in St. Petersburg. Representatives of the Danish, Russian and Greek Royal families were present at the ceremony.

Architecture

The exterior of the church is dominated by the three onion domes which top the gable facing the street. The design takes its inspiration from 17th century Muscovite architecture. The facade is executed in red and grey bricks with sandstone ornamentations. High on the facade, in a niche above the bells, is an icon of

, the church's

, painted by

Fyodor Bronnikov Fyodor Andreyevich Bronnikov (russian: Фёдор Андреевич Бронников; 17 September 1827–14 September 1902) was a Russian-born history and genre painter who spent most of his life in Italy. Biography He displayed an early a ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Churches in Copenhagen Historicist architecture in Copenhagen Churches completed in 1883 19th-century Russian Orthodox church buildings Listed religious buildings and structures in Denmark

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links