Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke)
Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Copenhagen. Give it roughly ~45 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Copenhagen Copenhagen guide
About Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke)
A Baroque church in Christianshavn whose gilded corkscrew spire you climb on an external staircase, 400 steps up to a gilded globe topped by a nearly four-metre Christ figure.
The Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke) is a Baroque church in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen, designed by Lambert van Haven, built from 1682 and inaugurated in 1695. Its celebrated helix spire, designed by Lauritz de Thurah, was completed in 1752 and rises, with the tower, to about 90 metres. A staircase of 400 steps climbs to the top, the final roughly 150 running outside, up the exterior of the spire, whose outer spiral winds counter-clockwise in four turns. A gilded globe at the summit carries a figure of Christ nearly four metres tall.
Inside are a Baroque organ of 1698-1700 by the Botzen brothers, with over 4,000 pipes on a case that appears to rest on two carved elephants, and an altarpiece by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger showing the Garden of Gethsemane. A carillon of 48 bells, the largest in northern Europe, plays automatically each hour. A legend that the architect leapt to his death over the spiral's direction is false; de Thurah died in 1759.
Did you know? The climb runs 400 steps, and the final 150 or so spiral up the outside of the spire in open air, tightening as they rise toward the gilded globe at the summit.
How long is a visit to Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke)?
Set aside roughly ~45 min for Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke) worth your time?
Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke) is among the 24 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Copenhagen, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Copenhagen
Day 2 of the Copenhagen in 2 days itinerary →Day 2 of the Copenhagen in 3 days itinerary →
Updated:
Hear the story of Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke)
Preview the Copenhagen tour free in the Gingerguide app.