St. Canute’s Cathedral: A Gothic Cathedral in Odense, Denmark
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Denmark
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Danish
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Cathedral
On this page14 sections
History
St. Canute’s Cathedral is a Gothic brick cathedral in Odense, Denmark, built during the medieval period and consecrated in 1499. Also known as Odense Cathedral, it is dedicated to Canute IV of Denmark, whose murder, burial, and later veneration shaped the history of the church. The cathedral has served as the seat of the Diocese of Funen and remains a Lutheran cathedral and deanery church within the Church of Denmark.
Canute IV and the first churches
Canute IV, also called Canute the Saint, ruled Denmark from 1080 until his death in 1086. On 10 July that year, he was killed with 17 followers, including his brother Benedict, in the nearby wooden church of St. Alban during a peasant rebellion. His remains were transferred to the predecessor of the present cathedral, and his grave became a destination for pilgrims. Medieval tradition connected the burial with miraculous healings, while Canute’s murder and subsequent canonization made him an important royal saint in Denmark.
A church built of travertine, a porous limestone, was under construction by 1095. Canute’s remains were transferred to its crypt that year, and the church was completed and dedicated to him in 1122. Its construction was intended specifically to house the king’s remains. The Bishopric of Odense already existed before 988. It briefly came under Roskilde in 1072 and was later placed under the authority of the Archdiocese of Lund.
Destruction and Gothic rebuilding
The travertine church was destroyed in the fire that devastated Odense during the civil war between Eric IV and Abel around 1247 to 1248. In the late thirteenth century, Bishop Gisico, whose episcopate lasted from 1287 to 1300, began a new cathedral to replace the damaged and inadequate stone church. The Gothic building was constructed in several phases over approximately two centuries and was consecrated on 30 April 1499.
The new cathedral expanded around surviving parts of the earlier church. Its crypt and raised choir level were retained, while the former transept was eventually removed and replaced by a straight continuation of the nave. The church originally followed a Latin-cross plan and had no tower. A western tower was completed in 1586, and Valkendorf’s Chapel was added in 1633. That chapel was dismantled during the major restoration of 1868.
Reformation and later religious history
St. Canute’s was a Roman Catholic cathedral until the Reformation was imposed in Denmark in 1536 under King Christian III. The bishops were removed from office and church lands were confiscated. The cathedral then became Lutheran and continues as a church of the Church of Denmark, Denmark’s established Lutheran church. Its continuing religious use includes services, funerals, and concerts.
Thomas Kingo became Lutheran bishop of Odense in 1634. His tenure belongs to the cathedral’s post-Reformation institutional history, and his hymnbook contained 85 hymns written by him. The crypt had been closed since the Reformation, but it was restored and reopened as a chapel during restoration in the 1870s. The remains attributed to Canute and Benedict were once again placed on display.
Royal burials and preservation
King Hans of Denmark died in 1513 and was buried in the cathedral. His wife, Christina of Saxony, died in 1521. Both had first been buried in the Franciscan church in Odense. After that church was demolished in 1807, their remains and the burial chapel commissioned from Claus Berg were transferred to the cathedral. The remains of their son Christian II, his wife Isabella of Austria, and their son Hans were moved from St. Peter’s Abbey in Ghent to the cathedral’s royal chapel in 1883.
The cathedral was listed as a listed building in 1918. Its religious and commemorative life also includes the annual observance of Canute’s death on 10 July, when the carillon is played.
Remains
Brick Gothic structure and earlier church
The cathedral occupies Klosterbakken, or Abbey Hill, in Odense. The present building is a Gothic brick basilica constructed principally from oversized red brick. This form belongs to Brick Gothic, a medieval building tradition that used brick instead of cut stone and spread widely around the southern Baltic and North Sea. Brick was chosen because it was cheaper and easier to work than the porous tuff available in the region. Pointed arches and high vaulted ceilings shape the surviving church, which has three aisles and no flying buttresses.
Archaeological remains of the earlier travertine church survive beneath the cathedral and can be seen in the crypt. That Romanesque building used semicircular arches and a flat timber ceiling. Portions of it were dismantled as the Gothic cathedral was built around the older structure. The earlier church had itself replaced or followed an older three-aisled wooden cross-basilica associated with the St. Alban complex. The form of that wooden church’s western end, including whether it had one or two towers, remains uncertain. St. Alban, where Canute was murdered, stood separately nearby, while the travertine predecessor was built farther from the river on the site occupied by the present cathedral.
Crypt, reliquaries, and memorials
The crypt is a chapel and burial space below the main floor of the church. It was enlarged so pilgrims could approach Canute’s reliquary beneath the raised choir without interrupting the canons’ hourly services above. Two reliquaries contain the remains attributed to Canute and Benedict. Examination of the remains confirmed their royal identity and supported the tradition that Canute was killed while kneeling in prayer before the altar.
Memorial slabs for King Hans, Christina of Saxony, Christian II, and Isabella of Austria are set into the crypt floor. The cathedral also contains a memorial epitaph for Christoph von Dohna, attributed to Willem van den Blocke. The royal chapel holds the transferred remains of Christian II, Isabella of Austria, and their son Hans, while the burial chapel commissioned from Claus Berg came from the former Franciscan church.
Altarpiece
The principal altarpiece was carved and gilded by Claus Berg between 1515 and 1525 for the Franciscan church in Odense. After that church was demolished in 1807, the altarpiece was transferred to the cathedral. It is approximately 5 metres high and has three parts containing about 300 carved and gilded figures. Its realistic treatment of the figures reflects the influence of southern German art.
The central section shows Christ crucified on the tree of life, surrounded by apostles and figures from biblical and church history, including Francis of Assisi. Above Christ, the Father and the Son crown Mary as Queen of Heaven, accompanied by musical angels. The side wings depict episodes from the lives of Jesus and Mary, extending from the Nativity through the Assumption and Pentecost.
The predella, the lower section of an altarpiece, presents Christ flanked by members of the Danish royal family. The figures include Christian II, King Hans, Prince Frans, Prince Hans, Christina of Saxony, Isabella of Austria, and Elizabeth, wife of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg.
Western tower and bells
The western tower contains five bells cast in 1300, 1597, 1677, 1767, and 1880. A separate carillon, a set of tuned bells operated by a keyboard or automatic mechanism, hangs in the tower lantern beneath the spire. It contains 48 bells and can be played automatically on weekdays or manually during major church festivals, including the annual commemoration of Canute’s death.
Organs
Main organ
The original main organ was built in 1752 by Amdie Worm of Engum. It had 42 stops, three manuals, and a pedal division, but only its organ case survives. Marcussen & Søn built a new 40-stop organ in 1862. The instrument was rebuilt in 1934 and enlarged to 53 stops, then rebuilt again in 1965, when the original 1862 to 1934 pipework was retained. A fourth manual, the Crescendo division, was added later. In 2006, an electronic combination system with 4,000 presets and an additional stop were installed. The present instrument has 57 stops on four manuals and pedals, with mechanical key action and pneumatic stop action.
Crypt organ
The smaller organ in the crypt has five stops. Jens Johan Gregersen originally built it around 1840 for Bodilsker on Bornholm. It was moved to Øde Førslev in Haslev in 1906 and donated to the cathedral in 1998. The instrument is used for services and concerts.
Choir organ
Carsten Lund built the choir organ in 1999 after a decision taken in 1998. Its voicing and tonal system refer to the Baroque period, while its 16-foot Vox Humana stop also permits the performance of earlier music. It is used during services, funerals, and concerts.
