Christianskirkjan

Main entrance side of Christian’s Church in Klaksvík, with its rose window.

Christianskirkjan (Christian's Church) is a modern church building in Klaksvík, the twelfth-largest city in the Faroe Islands. It was consecrated in the year 1963. The architect was Peter Koch of Denmark. Its structure is among the most beautiful modern buildings in the country.

At the time of construction, the church in Klaksvík awoke much interest in creating a culturally historic foundation for a new style of Faroese architecture in that, among other things, it used building materials, such as native Basalt and lumbar, as well as a renaissance in the sod roof as an alternative to the widely used concrete, which marked the time after World War II.

Christian's Church of Klaksvík, which is designed without any towers, puts one in mind of a Faroese wooden church, classical Viking buildings, or Faroese farms. The outer walls are made of basalt blocks, and the long sides of the roof frame are from five unbroken gables. The large window frontage is made in one frame. The bell tower stands somewhat apart from the church building.

The nave centered around the imposing altarpiece of the Eucharist, which is seven meters high. The painting had existed long before the church was built, and Peter Koch is said to have made this painting his centerpiece as he designed the church. It was created by the Danish church artist Joakim Skovgaard in 1901 as a fresco for the cathedral church in the Danish city of Viborg. Due to the moister of the walls of the cathedral church, there was the risk that the piece could be destroyed, therefore, it was put on canvass in 1910 and placed in the National Museum of Denmark so that it would later be made available to Koch for Christian's Church.

The stained glass in the rose window was created by Danish artist Ulrikke Marseen. The design depicts Christ as the one bears the weight of the world. This Gothic piece hearkens to the ruins of the Magnus Cathedral in the Faroese village of Kirkjubøur. The baptismal font is made of granite and is also Danish. It is about 4000 years old and was originally a pagan offering vessel and comes from a ruin of a church in Nordseeland and was gifted to the church by the National Museum of Denmark.

The organ has 29 stops and was built in 1974 by Jensen & Thomsen in Hillerød, Denmark.

On the bottoms side of the roof beams hangs a Färöboot, an eight-person áttamannafar, (a boat specific only to the Faroe Islands). This was the last boat built for the rectory in Viðareiði. The boat was sold to Fugloy in 1912 and was one of the boats, which was out at sea on the day before Christmas in 1913 for fishing - on the calamitous day on which several boats went missing, including boats from Skarð. All adult men from the village perished that night.

Two memorial plaques hang in the church. One bears witness that the church was built in commemoration of the Farese fishermen and sailors who, sailing as civilians, lost their lives during occupation in the World War II. The other plaque reports that the church was build in memory of the Danish King, Christian X, which is where the church gets its name -- the Christian's Church.

One of the "Seven Faroese Wonders"

At the Ólavsøka Festival in 2007, the Faroese television company, Kringvarp Føroya, announced a nation-wide contest for the "Seven Faroese Wonders“, by which the audience would recommend their favorite buildings and other things around the country. A series of eight winners (as two were in a tie) were not announced, but Christian's Church is among them. The others are the pews in the Kirkjubøur Church, the Magnus Cathedral, the Nordic House in the Faroe Islands, Tinganes, the Norðoyatunnilin tunnel, the first Flag of the Faroe Islands in the Church of Fámjin, and the Seat of the List of Danish High Commissioners in the Faroe Islands (the last two being tied).

Altarpiece on a Christmas postage stamp from 1996.