St. Gertrude's Hospital, Copenhagen
Encyclopedia
St. Gertrude's Hospital, Copenhagen was a locally important church and hospital in Copenhagen
, Denmark
.
was one of the patron saints of travellers and merchants. She was a Benedictine nun, the daughter of Pepin of Landen and the first abbess of Nivelles
Abbey in what is now Belgium
. She died in 659 and was venerated as a saint even in her lifetime for her holiness. Many chapels dedicated to Saint Gertrude were found throughout Denmark where travellers could pause to pray for assistance. The chapels had wooden statues of the saint and were often located at important crossroads.
In Copenhagen St. Gertrude's was located in the area known as Rosengaard. Nothing is known of its foundation: possibly it was built on the site of an earlier residence of one of Denmark's noble families, as it would have required a donation of property for the buildings. It was sited near the outer wall of the city, near the main road to the north gate (Nørreport). This location fits the usual pattern of Saint Gertrude's chapels elsewhere in Denmark at important crossroads and entrances to towns.
The establishment consisted of a chapel, or church, together with a quasi-religious community, or fraternity (samfund). The fraternity was never affiliated with one of the recognized orders, but remained under the supervision of local priests in the charge of a decanus (dean or deacon).
In addition to the chapel itself and the buildings that housed the brothers there was also a building for the sick and poor, the origin of the hospital. There was also a graveyard, perhaps older than the original St. Gertrude's chapel itself. Over time St. Gertrude's came into possession of properties inside, and perhaps also outside, the city walls, which provided its income.
In 1397, during the reign of Margaret I
, St. Gertrude's was being run as a religious house where weary travellers and itinerant workers could find a place to stay. Before 1454 a church existed on the site, though it continued to be called St. Gertrude's Chapel after the church was gone.
St. Gertrude's was not a priory in the strict sense, although several contemporary documents refer to it as such.
By 1517 St. Gertrude's had fallen on hard times. The graveyard had acquired a reputation as a place where criminals were buried, and the popular nobleman Torben Oxe
was beheaded there by order of Christian II
.
In 1524 the running of St. Gertrude's Hospital was combined with St. Anne's Hospital, Copenhagen. By 1530 the chapel had been abandoned and any money collected in the offertory box was to go towards funding the hospital, and not to the decanus.
and the dissolution of religious communities in Denmark, the disposition of the property apparently lay in the hands of crown administrators. The crown's rights and interest in the property were given to the knight Johan Bjørn; the same day the dean or deacon of St. Gertrude's received the rights to Rosbæk Mill Farm, presumably to replace his lost income. The church was listed among those under consideration to become parish churches in Copenhagen by the State Council Commission which had been established to determine the future of religious buildings after the Reformation. Eventually the entire institution was converted into a hospital which expanded over time.
bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, the tower of the hospital caught fire and collapsed into the body of the building, causing major damage. The building was repaired and the tower rebuilt, though without the gilding that had made it a target of the British gunners.
Occasionally skeletal remains and coffins are uncovered during modern excavations. Parts of the second hospital building survive and have become a well-known restaurant which preserves the original name St Gertruds Kloster.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
History
Saint GertrudeSaint Gertrude
Saint Gertrude may refer to:*Gertrude of Nivelles *Gertrude the Great...
was one of the patron saints of travellers and merchants. She was a Benedictine nun, the daughter of Pepin of Landen and the first abbess of Nivelles
Nivelles
Nivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
Abbey in what is now Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. She died in 659 and was venerated as a saint even in her lifetime for her holiness. Many chapels dedicated to Saint Gertrude were found throughout Denmark where travellers could pause to pray for assistance. The chapels had wooden statues of the saint and were often located at important crossroads.
In Copenhagen St. Gertrude's was located in the area known as Rosengaard. Nothing is known of its foundation: possibly it was built on the site of an earlier residence of one of Denmark's noble families, as it would have required a donation of property for the buildings. It was sited near the outer wall of the city, near the main road to the north gate (Nørreport). This location fits the usual pattern of Saint Gertrude's chapels elsewhere in Denmark at important crossroads and entrances to towns.
The establishment consisted of a chapel, or church, together with a quasi-religious community, or fraternity (samfund). The fraternity was never affiliated with one of the recognized orders, but remained under the supervision of local priests in the charge of a decanus (dean or deacon).
In addition to the chapel itself and the buildings that housed the brothers there was also a building for the sick and poor, the origin of the hospital. There was also a graveyard, perhaps older than the original St. Gertrude's chapel itself. Over time St. Gertrude's came into possession of properties inside, and perhaps also outside, the city walls, which provided its income.
In 1397, during the reign of Margaret I
Margaret I of Denmark
Margaret I was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and founder of the Kalmar Union, which united the Scandinavian countries for over a century. Although she acted as queen regnant, the laws of contemporary Danish succession denied her formal queenship. Her title in Denmark was derived from her...
, St. Gertrude's was being run as a religious house where weary travellers and itinerant workers could find a place to stay. Before 1454 a church existed on the site, though it continued to be called St. Gertrude's Chapel after the church was gone.
St. Gertrude's was not a priory in the strict sense, although several contemporary documents refer to it as such.
By 1517 St. Gertrude's had fallen on hard times. The graveyard had acquired a reputation as a place where criminals were buried, and the popular nobleman Torben Oxe
Torben Oxe
Torben Oxe was a Danish nobleman and a member of an aristocratic family.Oxe was the son of Johan Oxe of Tordsø and Inger Torbensdatter Bille. Both his father and grandfather had served as Danish Councillors . His nephew Peder Oxe, would become the future Danish finance minister and Steward of the...
was beheaded there by order of Christian II
Christian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
.
In 1524 the running of St. Gertrude's Hospital was combined with St. Anne's Hospital, Copenhagen. By 1530 the chapel had been abandoned and any money collected in the offertory box was to go towards funding the hospital, and not to the decanus.
Dissolution
By 1530 St Gertrude's had become a hospital for common people. During the ReformationReformation in Denmark
The Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein was the transition from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism in the realms ruled by the Copenhagen-based House of Oldenburg in the first half of the sixteenth century...
and the dissolution of religious communities in Denmark, the disposition of the property apparently lay in the hands of crown administrators. The crown's rights and interest in the property were given to the knight Johan Bjørn; the same day the dean or deacon of St. Gertrude's received the rights to Rosbæk Mill Farm, presumably to replace his lost income. The church was listed among those under consideration to become parish churches in Copenhagen by the State Council Commission which had been established to determine the future of religious buildings after the Reformation. Eventually the entire institution was converted into a hospital which expanded over time.
Later history
St. Gertrude's Hospital was destroyed in the great city fire of 1728. The only remains from the original St. Gertrude's are the large vaulted cellars beneath the present buildings at Coal Market Square . The hospital building was rebuilt even larger and more splendid than before. During the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807, the tower of the hospital caught fire and collapsed into the body of the building, causing major damage. The building was repaired and the tower rebuilt, though without the gilding that had made it a target of the British gunners.
Occasionally skeletal remains and coffins are uncovered during modern excavations. Parts of the second hospital building survive and have become a well-known restaurant which preserves the original name St Gertruds Kloster.
Sources
- Nielsen, Dr. Oluf, 1877: Kjøbenhavn i Middelalderen. Copenhagen: G. E. C. Gads Forlag; text available online at Kjøbenhavn i Middelalderen (kap. XVI: Klostre og Hospitaler)