Is there anything mandatory on your bucket list when you are on holiday and visiting a new city? In my experience, many people look towards the city's church as one of the must-see places. Is this also true for you?

Odense has several beautiful and interesting churches. Three of them share a history. Maybe you already know some of them?

Once Upon a Time

Odense was once known as a city with many monasteries and churches. The monasteries date back to the Middle Ages and today you can trace them in street names and names of buildings and squares. The monasteries themselves are gone.

Until the Reformation in 1536, Denmark was Catholic and the monasteries were part of the Catholic Church. With the Reformation, the buildings and property of the Catholic Church and monasteries were taken over by the Danish king. Some may have thought that this was a rather easy way for the king to gain great wealth. Perhaps this was when the Danish Church effectively became a state church.

The Catholic Church's income at the time came from several sources, including the collection of tithes, a form of church tax, and the selling of indulgences. And the Church did not pay taxes. Spurred on by the new Lutheran doctrine initiated by Martin Luther in Wittenberg, the people rebelled against what they saw as the Church's excessive power and privileges. At the time, the king was Frederik I. Did he support the rebellion? He certainly didn't put it down.

Greyfriars Monastery of Odense

The Reformation in Denmark is said to have been relatively peaceful. In theory the Danish monks and nuns were allowed to remain in their monasteries, which only became the property of the crown, and thus the king, when the last nuns and monks died. Except for the monasteries of the Greyfriars.

The Greyfriar monks, who had to live in poverty, were thrown out of the monasteries immediately. The new way of thinking in the Church was not friendly to begging monks, which the Greyfriars were.

Odense also had a monastery of the Greyfriars. The Order of the Greyfriars was founded by St Francis of Assisi and is therefore also known as the Franciscan Order. The original monastery was founded by the Danish king Erik Klipping, who had a royal estate in Odense. He gave it to the Greyfriars, the Franciscan monks.

A Gift from the Queen

Almost 250 years later, the Greyfriars Monastery Church, Gråbrødre Klosterkirke, received another royal donation from Queen Christine.

When she married King Hans, she was given Næsbyhoved Castle just outside Odense as her personal property. She was happy to be at Næsbyhoved Castle and spent a lot of time in Odense - probably also because there was trouble in the royal marriage. She was quite drawn to the ideas of St Francis of Assisi, and in Odense she founded a convent of nuns, a convent of St Clara. The Order of Clarissa, named after Clara of Assisi, was an order of nuns based on the same principles as the order of St Francis of Assisi.

A Royal Burial Place

According to Queen Christine, she and King Hans had decided that they would both be buried in Gråbrødre Monastery Church in Odense. This was a break with the tradition of royal burials taking place in Roskilde.

King Hans was the first to die. When he was laid to rest, Queen Christine commissioned an altarpiece for the church, that is, for Gråbrødre Monastery Church. Queen Christine commissioned the altarpiece from the wood carver Claus Berg, whom she brought to Odense from Lübeck. At the bottom of the altarpiece, on what is called the predella or the footpiece, the royal family was depicted. This was a kind of autograph from the donor who paid for the altarpiece, an acknowledgement of the gift. Remember, there were no newspapers or illustrated magazines, so making the donor part of the altarpiece itself was the way of the time to show who the donor was. So a portrait was carved of Queen Christine, King Hans, their children and a daughter-in-law. The altarpiece was in Gråbrødre Monastery Church for just over 300 years.

By the time the Reformation hit Denmark, King Hans and Queen Christine had both been buried in Gråbrødre Monastery Church. 

After the Reformation, Christian III, King Hans and Queen Christine's great-grandson, signed a deed of gift that transformed the former monastery into a hospital for the poor, sick and elderly, and the monastery was closed.

From Monastery Church to Parish Church

The monastery church was converted into a parish church, and over the coming centuries it fell into such disrepair that it was demolished in the early 1800s. Today, you can see the markings of the original church in the paving on Gråbrødre Square.

If you go in to see the current monastery church, you might wonder why it faces north-south. Not east-west, as churches usually do. The explanation is that it is the former infirmary that today is used as a church. This change happened at the end of the 19th century, when the old church was demolished. It can be a little hard to imagine as you enter the church, because it feels just right to walk through the old monks' corridor to the entrance. The atmosphere is as solemn as it should be on the way into a monastery church.

But what happened to the royal burials and the altarpiece? You can see them today in Odense Cathedral.

Odense Cathedral, St Canute's Church

Odense Cathedral is located in the very centre of Odense. If you drive from the west towards the city centre along Middelfartvej, you can see the church from afar. At that time, it was the intention that the important church should stand as a symbol that could be seen from a long, long distance. Preferably in a high place and preferably at a height that could be seen from far away. St Canute's Church does just that - even today.

Today, most people will refer to the church as Odense Cathedral. But it is actually called Skt. Knuds Kirke, St Canute's Church. There is of course a reason for this. It is named after the Danish king Canute the Holy. 

Canute the Holy, from King to Saint

We have to go all the way back to the Viking Age. Danish kings had conquered part of England, the Danelaw. Canute, son of Sweyn Estridsen, had led Viking raids to England on several occasions. In 1085 he had again given orders to gather an army for a raid, but because sailing to England was delayed, the men who had been drafted rebelled. They demanded that the army be disbanded so that they could return home and take care of the harvest. A very understandable request if you think about how important it was, even then, to have supplies for the winter.

As Canute did not want to disband the army, the drafted peasants made the decision themselves. They went home. Of course, the king could not tolerate this, so Canute issued fines to those who had gone home.

Then a rebellion broke out against Canute, who was staying at his royal farm in Børglum in North Jutland. Thus it was the North Jutlanders who led the rebellion.

To make a long story short, imagine the king fleeing from one royal farm to the next, down through Jutland. At one point he heads for the royal farm in Odense, still with rebels right behind him.

Churches were considered sacred and in Odense he sought refuge in the St Albani Church. This was the mistake of his life. The story goes that Canute took refuge in the church with his brother Benedict and some hirdmen. What happened next is not entirely clear from the historical accounts. In one account, rebels throw a stone through the window. It hit Canute on the forehead and killed him - or mortally wounded him. Another account says that one of the rebels entered the church with a concealed sword and killed Canute as he knelt in prayer before the altar.

In the past, the history was passed down by word of mouth, and as we have no video of the killing, we have to rely on the accounts. Which one do you believe the most?

Miracles in Odense

King Canute was killed in the year 1086. In Odense, miracles soon began to happen at Canute's grave. After only a few years, an application was sent to the Pope in Rome to have Canute declared a saint. This is quite unusual, as it would normally take 100 years or more before sainthood could be granted. Canute was declared a saint after only 11 years.

A few years later, monks from an English monastery founded a new Benedictine monastery at St Canute's tomb in Odense. The monks brought with them relics of St Alban, hence the name of the now Catholic church Sct. Albani Church.

Claus Berg's Altarpiece - or Queen Christine's?

Today, the beautiful Catholic altarpiece carved by Queen Christine for Gråbrødre Monastery Church has been installed in Odense Cathedral. Remember that you can see the donor and her family at the bottom of the altarpiece, whose countless, beautifully carved wooden figures are all different. Personally, I am impressed by the creativity and skill of the woodcarvers and, above all, by how well preserved the altarpiece is. Even though it wasn't made for St Canute's Church, it fits in very well with it. Did you ever stop to think that the church is Protestant and the altarpiece Catholic?

What is Hidden in the Crypt?

In the crypt of the cathedral you can see the coffin of St Canute. When it was opened, it contained a beautifully woven silk blanket with eagle motifs and, of course, the bones of St Canute. It is believed that the blanket was wrapped around his bones when he was made saint. The blanket was woven before 1100, so it is not surprising that the colours are no longer entirely clear. Look at the Eagle Carpet - and notice that corners have been cut off. They were cut off as a kind of souvenir, perhaps by later royalty who admired the blanket. You can't do that today, as it is now kept under glass. Even the current queen, Queen Margrethe II, has a souvenir of the eagle blanket. For her 60th birthday, the gift from the city of Odense was a brooch inspired by the Eagle Blanket, made by a local goldsmith.

Just opposite the Eagle Blanket you can see the coffin with the remains of King Canute and the coffin with the remains of his brother Benedict. In the floor are the royal tombstones that have been moved from Gråbrødre Monastery Church to St Canute's Church. The gravestones of King Hans, Queen Christine, two of their sons, Francis and Christian, who was crowned Christian the 2nd. There is also a gravestone for Christian II's wife Elisabeth.

More in modern times, Hans Christian Andersen was confirmed from Odense Cathedral. And it is precisely Hans Christian Andersen who links us to the final of the three central churches in Odense, St Hans Church. This was were Hans Christian Andersen was baptised.

Hospital Church of the Johannite Monks

St Hans Church was built about 200 years after St Canute's Church. St Hans Church and monastery were founded by Johannite monks, an order of monks who cared for and nursed the sick. In other words, it was a kind of hospital. Today, the original hospital is the priest's residence. You can see it just opposite the north entrance of the church.

Hans Christian Andersen was baptised at home immediately after birth because he was a frail child. He was presented in church shortly afterwards. You can see this on a memorial plaque in the porch. The priest remarked that the boy had a well-developed voice.

St Hans Church is a rather simple and in its simplicity a very beautiful church. The church also has fantastic acoustics. When I guide a tour of the church, I like to test the acoustics with my guests.

The altarpiece in St Hans Church is very different from the one in the Cathedral. It shows Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The painter is Carl Bloch, one of the greatest Danish painters of the late 19th century.

In the rear pillar, facing Odense Castle, there is an exterior pulpit, which can only be reached from inside the church. Perhaps it was used in the Middle Ages to preach to lepers and outlaws who were not allowed to enter the church for services. It is also possible that the pulpit was used to display relics on special days such as St Hans Day. If you look for the exterior pulpit from the outside, look for the wooden shutter.

Oluf Bager in Sct. Hans Church

There is also a connection between Gråbrødre Church and St Hans Church, namely Oluf Bager's epitaph. Oluf Bager was one of the great and wealthy merchants of the Renaissance in Odense. He had his family depicted in an epitaph, a memorial tablet, which he had hung in Gråbrødre Church in 1576. Today, the memorial plaque is displayed in St Hans Church. It is a dramatic picture. The members of the family are painted with the age they were when the picture was painted. Oluf Bager, his wife and their 12 children. Notice one of the little girls. She is dressed in black, unlike the others. She died as a baby.

The story and life of Oluf Bager is best suited to the living narrative. If you want to hear the whole story about the exciting merchant and his achievements, I'd be happy to share it with you. It's one of my favourite stories in Odense.

I am happy to say visit Odense with Guide Service Denmark and our guide service Odense.

Photos
Odense Cathedral, seen from the Fairy Tale Garden. Photo: Kim Wyon. License: VisitDenmark
The Predella of Claus Berg's Altarpiece. Photo: Hans A. Rosbach. Licens: CC-BY-SA 3.0
The Eagle Blanket, Odense Cathedral. Photo: Lennart Larsen. Licens: CC-BY-SA
Sankt Hans Church. Photo: Nahum 612. License: CC0 1.0