Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Visiting the Cathedral:
The cathedral was finished in 1520 in all its Cath-
olic glory. Imagine it with 55 side chapels, each dedicated to a different saint
andwallpaperedwithcolorfulfrescos.Badtiming.Just16yearslater,in1536,
the Reformation hit and Protestants cleaned out the church—side altars gone,
paintings whitewashed over—and added a pulpit mid-nave so parishioners
could hear the sermon. The front pews were even turned away from the altar
to face the pulpit (a problem for weddings today).
Ironically, that Lutheran whitewash protected the fine 16th-century Cath-
olic art. When it was peeled back in the 1920s, the frescoes were found per-
fectly preserved. In 1998, the surrounding whitewash was redone, making
the old original paintings, which have never been restored, pop. Noble tombs
that once lined the floor (worn smooth by years of traffic) now decorate the
walls. The fancy text-filled wall medallions are epitaphs, originally paired
with tombs. Ships hang from the ceilings of many Danish churches (you'll
find a fine example in the left transept)—in this nation of seafarers, there were
invariably women praying for the safe return of their sailors.
