Aarhus Cathedral

Coordinates: 56°9′25″N 10°12′38″E / 56.15694°N 10.21056°E / 56.15694; 10.21056
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Aarhus Cathedral
St Clement's Church
Aarhus Domkirke (
Style
Gothic
Years built1190–1500
Completed1500
Specifications
Nave length305 ft
Number of towers1
Tower height315 ft
MaterialsBrick
Administration
DioceseDiocese of Aarhus
Clergy
Bishop(s)Henrik Wigh-Poulsen
ProvostPoul Henning Bartholin
The main door

Aarhus Cathedral (Danish: Århus Domkirke) is a cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the longest and tallest church in the country, at 93 m (305 ft) in length and 96 m (315 ft) in height.

The construction of Aarhus Cathedral began in the 12th century and it is the main edifice of the

inner city. The church can seat around 1200 people.[1]

Aarhus Cathedral is a listed building and was designated 1 February 2012.[2]

History

The early churches of Aarhus

It is unknown exactly when people first settled near the mouth of the Aarhus River on the east coast of Jutland. Certainly in the 700s there was a

runestones in or near the city. The name is known as Aros, Arus, Aarhus or Aars, as early as the 15th century. The city's charter of 1449 names it "Aarss". After the Reformation in Denmark
, the name "Aarhus" became current.

Aarhus' first church, Holy Trinity Church, a

Archbishop of Hamburg. Aros came under the rule of the Archbishop of Viborg in 1060. According to Adam of Bremen, Aros was made a dependent diocese before 998.[4][5]

St. Nikolai's church was the first

St. Clement. St. Clement was an early Bishop of Rome who was martyred by having an anchor tied to his neck and thrown into the Black Sea, according to a fictional biography of the saint. Clement was the patron saint of sailors and especially popular in Scandinavia. The first St. Clement's church burned at some point before the 1190s.[6]

This timber church was the center of the local veneration of St.

St. John's Day. On his death bed in 1180, St. Niels asked to be buried in "the little church by the sea" (St. Clements). He was buried in the churchyard at St. Clements.[7]

Aarhus Cathedral

The construction of Aarhus Cathedral began in the decade after year 1190, by Bishop

Zealand. Bishop Vognsen built the cathedral around St. Clement's church because local people venerated St. Niels, and Vognsen wanted to harness that devotion for his cathedral. Vognsen also established the cathedral school of Aarhus Katedralskole, before the cathedral was completed. The church was finished in 1300 in typical Romanesque style with half-rounded arches supporting a flat timber ceiling. The second St. Clements was built of large red bricks, a new building material that became popular all over Scandinavia and northern Germany for ecclesiastical and public buildings. Four chapels were built into the north transept. The episcopal chair was moved from Our Lady Church to St. Clements.[8]

Gothic vaults (with paint restored in 1999), windows and the back of the altar
in the Aarhus Cathedral

However, in 1330, the cathedral and much of the town burned down, and the church was abandoned until 1449. By then the

raised the ceilings and permitted high windows which fill the building with light.

The

Catholic, and that brought even more support from common people. By 1528 most of the cities had begun the process of reforming their churches. Tausen taught that tearing apart ancient churches was wrong and that orderly change should be used to reform the church.[9]

In 1533

Christopher of Oldenburg to assist in restoring Catholic Christian II to the throne. This resulted in a two-year war called the Count's Feud. Despite the odds, Christian III prevailed and in the summer of 1536 arrested several of the bishops and threw them into prison. The last Roman Catholic Bishop of Aarhus, Ove Bille (d. 1555) was imprisoned in the summer of 1536 when Denmark officially became a Lutheran nation.[10]

The tower is the tallest in Denmark at 96 meters. It received its present form in 1931. In 1642 lightning struck the tower and set it ablaze, destroying some of the historic bells, but damage to the interior of the church was minimal.

Interior

Medieval fresco in typical Danish style
A fresco of St. George with the dragon inside the Aarhus Cathedral

The fresco paintings and the stained glass window

Aarhus Cathedral has a number of

lepers
who weren't permitted inside the building.

The paintings of

St George
with the dragon (pictured, left).

St Clements only has one

Norwegian artist Emanuel Vigeland (1875–1948) in 1926. Its theme is taken from N. F. S. Grundtvig's hymn Da livtræet fæstet i graven rod. It stands 14 metres (46 ft) high and is the largest stained glass window in all of Denmark. Three scenes are painted on the window: at the bottom, Christ's lying in his grave on Golgotha; next, Christ crucified, and topmost, Christ standing in golden light. The most unusual feature is the Crucifixion scene, which (for an unknown reason) shows Jesus's head falling to the left, unlike traditional scenes which always show Jesus's head falling to the right.[11][12]

Altar by Bernt Notke

The altar

The cathedral has a wonderful altarpiece (pictured, left) carved by the famous

Easter Sunday 1479 and is one of Denmark's great treasures. The altarpiece is unusual in that it has movable sections, so different scenes may be viewed during the liturgical calendar.[13]

The pulpit was carved in oak by sculptor Mikkel van Groningen and dedicated in 1588. It shows scenes from the Old and New Testaments.[14]

The baptismal font

The

Matthew alone has the head of a man.[15]

The font has four scenes, carved in relief, from the life of

Mary's
heavenly coronation.

For the first hundred years, the font was open and the priest dipped the child three times; later there were added a brass top and a silver tray used for the baptism of children, which is now over 300 years old.[1]

Golden gates, the bells and the model ship

One of the golden gates inside the Aarhus Cathedral

The "Golden Door" is one of five wrought iron gates that separate the nave from the choir, a reminder of the separation between the clergy and public in Catholic times. The gates were made by German-born artist Caspar Fincke (1584–1655).[16]

In the huge bell tower hang eight bells. In 1642 lightning struck the tower and set it ablaze and damaged some of the bells. The oldest (dating from the mid-13th century is the "Martinus"; "pl" is cast in 1493, Per Tidichsøn's bell is of 1505, Caspar Kønig's is cast in 1746, the M. C. Troschell bell is cast in 1762, and a pair of L. Andersen's bells are from 1893, and lastly came the 1894 S. Frichs bell.

A model ship exhibited inside the Aarhus Cathedral

As is the custom in many parts of Denmark, a ship hangs at the crossing as a reminder of those lost at sea and of Denmark's close connection to the sea (pictured, left). The cathedral's ship (dated 1720) is named Enigheden (lit. English Unity) and it might have been built in Holland: the Russian tsar Peter the Great ordered warships from shipbuilders in Holland; instead of sketches, he was offered a model of the upcoming ship, which was sent by sea to Russia. A storm sank the transport by Skagen, and the model made it to shore almost intact. Some fishermen from Aarhus bought the model and subsequently offered it as a votive gift to the Aarhus Domkirke.

With the model ship's length of 2.65 metres (8 ft 8 in) and height of 3.50 metres (11.5 ft), it is the largest church ship in any Danish church, and it is thought of as a symbol of man's sail from

grave.[1]

Tombs and memorials

A memorial plaque (dated 1587) above a tomb of a noble woman in the Aarhus Cathedral
A memorial plaque (in Danish) remembering a donation of 100 Thalers left to the cathedral in 1702 by an elderly married couple

The crypt of the cathedral houses the remains of thousands of people of all ranks. The church has several chapels and

memorials. The most striking is the Marselis Chapel, built for the Marselis family by the Flemish baroque sculptor Thomas Quellinus (1661-c.1710); the chapel's high Baroque memorial is the largest of its kind in Denmark, and beneath the floor is the family burial vault.[17]

The organ

The main pipe organ was built by the organ builder Lambert Daniel Kastens (c. 1690–1744) in 1730. He was a student of one of Europe's best-known organ makers, Arp Schnitger (1648–1719) of Hamburg. It has been restored, enlarged, and updated several times, but the baroque facade has been maintained. The majority of voices in the current organ are built by the organ builders Th. Frobenius & Sons between 1928 and 2001. The most recent restoration took place between 2018 and 2020 by Danish organ builders Marcussen & Søn[18] With 89 organ stop it is now Denmark's largest church organ.[19] In 1885, pianist, composer and conductor Robert William Otto Allen (1852–1888) became the organist.[20][21]

Organ specifications

Manual I, Great
Principal 16'
Gedakt 16'
Principal 8'
Spidsfløjte 8'
Gedakt 8'
Viola da Gamba 8'
Oktav 4'
Spidsfløjte 4'
Quint 2 2/3'
Superoktav 2'
Terts 1 3/5'
Mixtur VI
Cymbel IV
Trompet 16'
Trompet 8'
Clairon 4'


Manual IV, Echo
Hulfløjte 8'
Spidsgamba 8'
Unda maris 8'
Principal 4'
Fløjte 4'
Nasat 2 2/3'
Nathorn 2'
Spidsfløjte 2'
Terz 1 3/5'
Sivfløjte 1'
Mixtur IV
Cor anglais 8'
Vox humana 8'
Manual II, Positive
Gedackt 16'
Principal 8'
Rørfløjte 8'
Quintatøn 8'
Octav 4'
Gedaktfløjte 4'
Octav 2'
Blokfløjte 2'
Larigot 1 1/3'
Octav 1'
Sesquialtera II
Scharf IV
Dulcian 16'
Trompet 8'
Krumhorn 8'
Skalmej 4'


Manual IV,

Crown Positive


Tectus 8'
Rørfløjte 4'
Principal 2'
Spidsquint 1 1/3'
Skalmeje 8'


Pedal
Bordunbas 32'
Principal 16'
Subbas 16'
Gedaktbas 16'
Violone 16'
Rørquint 10 2/3'
Octav 8'
Manual III, Swell
Bordun 16'
Principal 8'
Rørgedackt 8'
Flûte harmonique 8'
Salicional 8'
Vox celeste 8'
Violinprincipal 4'
Tværfløjte 4'
Fugara 4'
Octavfløjte 2'
Cornet II
Mixtur V
Fagot 16'
Trompette harmonique 8'
Obo 8'
Clairon 4'


Pedal (contd.)
Gedakt 8'
Violoncello 8'
Octav 4'
Træfløjte 4'
Quintatøn 4'
Hulfløjte 2'
Flautino 1'
Septima III
Mixtur IV-VI
Contrabombarde 32'
Bombarde 16'
Basun 16'
Fagot 16'
Basun 8'
Serpent 8'
Trompet 4'
Regal 2'

Manual compass = C–c4, Pedal compass = C–g1.

In addition to the main organ, the cathedral also houses a smaller 2-manual organ with 23 stops, built in 1970 by Danish organ builders Bruno Christensen & Sønner, as well as a movable 4-stop positive organ.[18]

See also

  • List of Churches in Aarhus

References

  1. ^ a b c "Historie". Archived from the original on 2008-12-26. Retrieved 2009-01-04. The Domkirkens historie section on the Aarhus Domkirke official website. In Danish. Last accessed 4 January 2009.
  2. ^ "FBB - Bygning". www.kulturarv.dk. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. .
  4. ^ Kevin Knight. "Ancient See of Aarhus in Denmark". New Advent. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  5. ^ "Reginbrand er navnet på Århus´ første biskop". vikingemuseet. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  6. ^ Chapman, Henry Palmer (1908). "Pope St. Clement I" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4.
  7. ^ "Hellig Niels". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  8. ^ "Peder Vognsen". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "Hans Tausen". Den Store Danske, Gyldendal. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  10. ^ "Ove Bille". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  11. ^ Nils Messel. "Emanuel Vigeland". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  12. ^ Flemming Lundgreen-Nielsen. "Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig". Gyldendal Leksikon. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  13. ^ "Bernt Notke". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Mikkel van Groningen". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  15. ^ "Lange, Jens Iversen, –1482, Biskop". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  16. ^ "Caspar Fincke". Salmonsens konversationsleksikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  17. ^ "Thomas Quellinus". kulturarv.dk. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  18. ^ a b Aarhus Domkirke. "Aarhus Domkirkes orgler". Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ "Arp Schnitger". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  21. ^ "Allen, Robert William Otto, 1852-88". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018.

External links