{{Infobox church | image = Gedser Church.jpg | denomination = [[Church of Denmark]] | country = [[Denmark]] | location = [[Gedser]], [[Falster]] | name = Gedser Church | native_name = Gedser Kirke | native_name_lang = Danish | architect = [[Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint]], [[Carl Andersen (gymnast)|Carl Andersen]] | parish = Gedser Sogn | deanery = Falster Provsti | diocese = [[Diocese of Lolland–Falster]] | years_built = 1913–1915 }}
'''Gedser Church''' lies in the town of [[Gedser]] on the southern tip of the [[Denmark|Danish]] island of [[Falster]]. It is the church of Gedser Parish. Completed in 1915, it was designed by [[Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint]], best known for designing [[Grundtvig's Church]] in [[Copenhagen]].
==History== Over the centuries, the two parish churches of southern Falster had been located in Skelby and Gedesby. When Gedser grew to a community of 1,000 to 1,300 around the end of the 19th century, the need for a church became stronger. While visiting the town, the crown prince, later [[Frederik VIII of Denmark|King Frederik VIII]], is quoted as saying: "It is too far to Gedesby and it is good to hear God's word every once in a while."<ref name=Gedser>{{cite web|url=http://www.skelby-gedesby-gedser.dk/|title=Gedser Sogn|publisher=Gedser Sogn|accessdate=2010-06-16|archive-date=2010-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624224431/http://www.skelby-gedesby-gedser.dk/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 1907, a church committee was set up and [[Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint]] was commissioned to design the building. Despite a very tight budget, construction began in 1913 and the church was consecrated on [[Palm Sunday]] 1915.<ref name=Gedser/>
Legend has it that the day a church is completed in Gedser, the sea will wipe away the town. Somewhere or other, there is therefore a missing brick so that it can never be said that the church has been completed.<ref name=Gedser/>
==Architecture== With its yellow brickwork and vertical ornamentation resembling [[organ pipe]]s, the exterior bears similarities to Jensen-Klint's later and much more famous work, [[Grundtvig's Church]] in [[Copenhagen]]. But this does not extend to the inside which is dominated by the imposing timber structure of the roof which looks like an inverted [[hull (watercraft)|ship's hull]], reflecting the town's nautical traditions as a port and important ferry terminal. The ribs work as supporting columns. The most striking ornamentation of the interior is the fresco in the demi-domal vault above the choir. When the church was completed, there were no funds for a painting but by 1924, public collections and gifts had provided the necessary means. On Jensen-Klint's recommendation, a still young Elof Riseby was charged with the assignment. The fresco is inspired by [[John 3:16]]: ''For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son''.
==Gallery== <gallery> Image:Gedser(01).JPG|Facade with main entrance Image:Gedser Church - facade detail.jpg|Facade detail Image:Gedser Church - interior.jpg|The interior Image:Gedser Church - ceiling.jpg|Ribs used as supporting columns File:Nordenskirker Gedser(10).jpg|Altar painting </gallery>
==See also== {{Commons category|Gedser Kirke}} *[[Architecture of Denmark]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Falster Denmark}}
[[Category:Churches in Falster]] [[Category:Churches completed in 1915]] [[Category:20th-century Church of Denmark churches]] [[Category:Churches in the Diocese of Lolland–Falster]] [[Category:Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint buildings]]