The church of kings

Roskilde, Denmark’s first capital, was historically known as a thriving trade centre through the Middle Ages as well as the sight of Zealand’s first Christian church by Viking king Harold Bluetooth in 980 AD.

Fast forward to 1026 when Canute 1 and his brother-in-law Ulf Jarl had words over a chess match. Family squabbles being what they were, Canute decided to take the upper hand and assassinate his bro-n-law in the Roskilde church. Canute’s sister and Ulf’s wife, Estrid, decided she could no longer worship in the church (yea…guess so), and so she torn down the existing church and built the present day Roskilde Cathedral on its foundations.

As Catholicism flourished, nearly 20 churches and monasteries were built in the town of Roskilde, in addition to this cathedral which became the burial site of Danish royalty for centuries. After the Reformation swept Denmark, and the trade centre and national capital moved to Copenhagen, Roskilde (the town) became a blip on the map.

An easy train ride west of Copenhagen, the Budman and I found ourselves waiting out a major thunderstorm inside the cathedral. Today, Roskilde Domkirke is a Unesco World Heritage Sight and boasts a splendid interior as well as the crypts of 37 Danish kings and queens. I’d love to show you a photo of the church’s exterior, but ...yes, you guess it…the exterior was under renovation and covered in tarps and scaffolding. Still, it was a fascinating place to visit and the interior was quite exquisite.