In
medieval Copenhagen, Holmen (or Bremerholm) was an actual island. However, in the 16th century, city restructuring made it less of an island and more of a peninsula surrounded by Holmens Canal. On this peninsula,
Christian III of Denmark founded a shipyard which became synonymous with the name
Holmen. When the shipyard moved to Nyholm on
Christianshavn, the name
Holmen followed, and Bremerholm then became Gammelholm (old island), a name which is rarely used today. Holmens Canal was filled in the 1860s, but the name lives on as a street.
The anchor forge In 1562–63,
Frederick II of Denmark built an anchor forge for Holmen, which was placed on the other side of the canal. The building was atypically shaped, as special consideration was given not to spoil the view from the king's castle,
Christiansborg. The actual forge was hidden behind a taller building, called
the tower, which was given a handsome front in Italian style facing the castle, and which was erected by Peter de Dunckers.
The first church In 1617,
Christian IV of Denmark built houses for the navy's personnel between the Church of Saint Nikolaj and Holmen. This created an influx in population which made it necessary to build a larger church, which the king had set up in the former anchor forge. At first, the reconstruction into a church caused no redesign of the building's blueprints. The church was consecrated on 5 September 1619, but craftsmen were still working on the church during 1620. The building had certain similarities to a village church, with the higher tower as a bell tower in one end, but the tower was not an actual part of the church, and the bells were situated in the opposite end of the building. Not much is known about the decoration of the first church.
The cruciform church The church quickly became too small, and already in 1641, it was decided to expand it into a
cruciform church. The tower was incorporated into the church, and the remainder of the church was brought to the same height. The two new arms are slightly shorter than the two old ones. Leonhard Blasius was the builder of the church, but indications are that the king decided on the layout of the church, modeled after the
Glücksburg Castle church. The walls are tile on a high foundation of
granite blocks. The new arms were built in yellow bricks which are smaller than the stone used in the tower. In order for the building to have a uniform look, the walls were painted in yellow and red vertical stripes on which white lines were painted in order to resemble a brick wall. The spire was built in two stories with the bells in the bottom half. This spire has caused significant problems over the years, as the wooden construction of the roof was not strong enough to carry the weight. The construction was reinforced in 1698 and in 1793, but not until 1930 was the collapse halted by the introduction of an iron construction. It is estimated that the spire sits 60 cm (two feet) lower than when it was first built.
Later changes The major Copenhagen fires of
1728 and
1795 did not affect the Holmen Church, and the bombardments in
1659 and
1807 only caused minor damage to the church, and thus the fundamental shape of the church today is the same as when it was first constructed. However, a
cannonball is visible in the
plinth on the northern side of the
choir, supposedly from the
Swedish assault in 1658. In 1697 a
chapel was built for
Niels Juel in the church, designed by Ernst Brandenburger. This building was later removed after the construction of Niels Juel's
mausoleum. When
Roskilde Cathedral was renovated,
Christian IV of Denmark's portal from 1635 was transferred to the eastern gable of the Holmen Church. The sculpting and
stucco were repaired early in the 20th century, as had become necessary due to the sinking of spire construction. In preparation for the wedding between
Hereditary Princess Margrethe and
Prince Henrik in 1967, which took place in the church, the church underwent major restoration. This included changing the wooden floor to stone. ==See also==