Hellerup Church
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| Hellerup Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Hellerup Church | |
| 55°44′04″N 12°34′23″E / 55.734333°N 12.573056°E | |
| Location | Margrethevej 7A 2900Hellerup |
| Country | Denmark |
| Denomination | Protestant Church |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Thorvald Jørgensen |
| Completed | 1900 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick |
Hellerup Church is a Church of Denmark parish church situated on Margrethevej, off Strandvejen, in central Hellerup, Gentofte Municipality, Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed in 1899–1900 to a Historicist design by Thorvald Jørgensen, who would later design Christiansborg Palace, it was the second parish church to be built in Gentofte Municipality.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the population of Gentofte Parishstarted to grow more rapidly. The residents of the emerging district of Hellerup had either to use Gentofte Church to the north or Zion's Church or St. Jacob's Church in Østerbro. In 1893, a church room was installed on the first floor of the private villa at Sofievej 33. It was given the name Emmaus and had room for around 150 church-goers. The house was owned by piano manufacturer Harald Theodor Peter Hindsberg. In the summer time, outdoor service was also conducted under the canopy of a large beech tree in Hellerupgård's garden.[1]
In 1895, a committee was finally set up with the ambition of constructing a proper church in the growing community. The writer Peder Søren Lemche (1835-1901), who owned Nordre Onsgård, offered to contribute to the project with a piece of land. The committee was given a choice between three possible locations. The three sites were located on Aurehøjvej, Margrethevej and the corner of Lemckesvej and Strandvejen, respectively. The location on Margrethevej was ultimately selected as the more peaceful of the three sites. The still relatively young and inexperienced architect Thorvald Jørgensen was charged with creating a design proposal for a church with 600 seats. He had already designed Nathanael's Church on Holmbladsgade on Amager and the then-under-construction Brorson's Church on Rantzausgade in Nørrebro. Jørgensen's proposal was approved by the committee. On 18 March 1899, it was also approved by the local Parish Council. The foundation stone was set on 28 April 1899. The church was inaugurated on 14 October 1900. On 26 October, Hellerup Church was handed over to Gentofte Municipality. On 28 September 1901, Hellerup Parish was formally disjoined from Gentofte Parish. A new congregation house (menighedshus) was inaugurated on 6 January 1907.[1]
By 1912, Hellerup Church had already become too small. On 1 July 1918, in anticipation of the construction of Church of the Messiah, in Charlottenlund, Maglegård Parish was disjoined from Hellerup Parish. On 27 February 1949, Helleruplund Parish was also disjoined. Hellerup church was converted into a self-owning institution on 1 April 1974. At the time of its 75 years anniversary, the parish had just under 7,000 residents.[1]