Trinity Church is a religious building in Kristianstad

Kristianstad

Kristianstad is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 35,711 inhabitants in 2010.-History:The city was founded in 1614 by King Christian IV of Denmark, the city's name literally means 'Town of Christian', as a planned city after the burning of the town of Vä...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, built between 1617 and 1628 by Christian IV of Denmark

Christian IV of Denmark

Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...

. He had founded the city of Kristianstad in 1614 at a time when Scania

Scania

Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...

 was part of the Kingdom of Denmark

Kingdom of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark or the Danish Realm , is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting of Denmark proper in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. Denmark is the hegemonial part, where the...

. The church's large size and style reveal the king's ambitions for his new city.

Architecture

Designed by the Flemish-Danish architect, Lorenz van Steenwinckel

Lorenz van Steenwinckel

Lorenz van Steenwinckel was a Flemish-Danish architect and sculptor, son of Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder and brother of Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger. From 1613, he was responsible for numerous projects commissioned by Christian IV...

, the grandiose building is widely considered by many to be Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

's finest Renaissance

Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

 church. Its extensive nave is able to accommodate congregations of up to 1,400. Like many Danish churches of the times, it is built of red brick. But this church is decorated with many sandstone statues and ornaments, including several monograms of Christian IV, testifying to his involvement.

The well-preserved interior is decked with star-shaped cross vaults

Groin vault

A groin vault or groined vault is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. The word groin refers to the edge between the intersecting vaults; cf. ribbed vault. Sometimes the arches of groin vaults are pointed instead of round...

, supported by pillars of granite. Trinity Church has been little altered since it was built. The main addition is its 59-meter-tall tower constructed in 1865. The church is pleasantly and abundantly illuminated thanks to its 26 tall windows.

The entrance through the western tower opens into a six-bay nave, with wide aisles, terminating in a projecting eastern sanctuary. The vaults are covered with a cross-gabled roof, with large ornamented gables on the north and south sides.

Furnishings and decorations

The pulpit, which is sculpted in Belgian and Italian marble, shows Christ and the four evangelists. The impressive canopy hanging above the puplit weighs almost a ton.

The Baroque organ case by German-born Johan Lorentz from 1630 is still equipped with the original pipes although the works themselves have been replaced. It is used both for concerts and church services.

The delicately carved benches are as old as the church itself.