Initially, King Frederik III realised the need for churches in his realm. First, the Danish-speaking Trinity church was Luthern but many of the soldiers were German-speaking. So a Danish German-speaking church was built in 1668 and it was later declared the garrison church. Until 1830, services alternated between German and Danish then became Danish only.
Like Trinity Church, there is a cemetery surrounding the church building.
In 1955 a fire created a lot of damage to the church and the bell was damaged. It was repaired when the church was restored but it never sounded just right. It was replaced with a new bell and given a place in the cemetery at the side of the church.
In 1674 King Christian 4th allowed freedom of worship to attract more people to Fredericia. Not long after, a synagogue was established and a Jewish community developed in the neighbouring regions. It was not until the beginning of the 1900s that Jews were allowed to live anywhere in Denmark. Soon after, they moved away from Fredericia and only their cemetery remains. Jewish tradition holds that it cannot be disturbed.
With religious freedom, a Jesuit pater came to town to represent the Catholic community. The Catholic church negotiated with King Christian V to build a school and minister to all of the Catholics in the peninsula.
Although this original church is small, it is adjacent to the private school which is still operating. St. Joseph hospital is next to it and there is no cemetery next to it. What does that imply?
If you are looking to get married and are not keen on a church wedding, there is a beautiful city hall nearby.
I may have missed it in a previous blog post. How long were you at Fredericia? Your posts on it are great! Would you go back?
Oh, and for the record… That City Hall is beautiful! Who would not want to get married there as well?
Hi Paul, Thanks for the comment. I tried to answer that question in the next post. In summary, it was a busy morning.
It is a lot more work sharing the pictures than it is taking them. I have been to Copenhagen a few times and think it is a great place to start a holiday in Denmark. In my case, it has been the starting point for a cruise. Fredericia is an included port of call and has an interesting history for a relatively new European town.