The Marble Church
Frederik's Church, or Marble Church as it is also called, is a living city church in the Copenhagen district of Frederiksstaden. The beautiful church with the magnificent dome is definitely worth a visit if you are in Copenhagen.
Get a sneak peek into a visit with this video:
The story behind
In the years around 1740, Frederik the 5th wanted to build a royal church, a pompous monument that was to be a unifying center for the district. Frederik's Church was to be built exclusively in marble, from which the name Marble Church originated.
The construction was started in 1749 and was an extremely costly project. The marble was imported from Bergen in Norway, and several builders and architects from home and abroad had to work on the project before they were satisfied.
In 1766, Frederik the 5th dies and Christian the 7th, who takes over the throne, is less interested in the great monument. Therefore, the funds cease and construction stops completely in 1770.
Rescued by industrialist and "Danish marble"
Construction ends up standing still for over 100 years!
Only when the industrialist Carl Frederik Tietgen was allowed to buy the church in 1874 by the state, the construction can be resumed. The construction site reopened in 1877.
When the church is now called the Marble Church, one can easily be tempted to believe that it is built of marble. However, this is only partially true, because while it was originally the plan, they went more economically after Tietgen's takeover. So while the original walls really consist of marble, the top of the church (the drum) is finished in what we can call "Danish marble" - limestone from Faxe Lime Mining (which is also on our map).
The church was finally consecrated in 1894 and has since formed the framework for various church activities, and in recent years also concerts and lectures.
Opening hours
The church is open for visits at the following times:
Monday-Thursday 10am-5pm
Friday: 12-17
Saturday: 10-17
Sunday: 12-17
There is also a church service every Sunday and public holidays at 10.30 am.
ATTENTION! Please note that the church does not open until 12 on Friday due to cleaning.
Tower tours
All year round it is possible to go on trips to the top of the church, from where a fantastic view of Copenhagen and the Sound awaits.
See when you can get on the tower tour here.
FAQ about the Marble Church
Visits are open Monday-Thursday as well as Saturday 10 am-5pm, and Friday as well as Sunday noon. 12-17. There is also a worship service every Sunday and holidays at. 10:30.
Visiting the church is free. Tower tours cost SEK 35 for adults and SEK 20 for children under 18.
Work on drawings for Frederikskirken was started approx. 1740, but the church was not consecrated until 1894.
It measures 31 meters in diameter and rests on 12 pills.
The church is 79 meters high.
There is a service in the Marble Church every Sunday and public holiday at 10.30.
The architect behind it was Ferdinand Meldahl, who combined the existing walls of Norwegian marble (from which the church took its name) with a dome built in Roman Baroque style inspired by St. Peter's Church.
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Nice church but less nice and overgrown outside
Beautiful impressive church, but very dirty and overgrown around the church
We were on a trip to Copenhagen in week 42, the plan was a visit to the Marble Church, it only opened at 12, when they were cleaning, we had planned at 10 as the opening time should be. Very unfortunate we must have that visit to our credit. One thing that surprised us was that around the church it was very overgrown with weeds and waste plastic, it looked very tired, what do all the tourists who visit the church and the area around Amalienborg think, we wondered.