Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Hans is the only surviving part of the old monastery of St. John (according to Danish tradition - St. Hans), founded at the beginning of the 15th century by the Order of Malta. The church stands in the center of the city of Odense, adjacent to the Odense Palace, on the site of which the same monastery was located, which was disbanded in 1536 after the Reformation.
It is known that the church was built even before the opening of the monastery - the first mention of it dates back to 1295. Most likely, its construction lasted for several more centuries, simultaneously with the construction of the monastery complex itself. It is believed that it was fully completed in 1496 - this date is marked on one of the church bells.
However, its original appearance has not survived to this day, since in 1636 it was heavily rebuilt. Of the details and decorations typical of the Gothic architectural style, only a few large carved windows remain. Now the modern building of the church, built of red brick, is made in the style of the Renaissance.
The main altar of the temple was completed in 1879 - its creation was part of the planned restoration of the church, which took place in 1877-1880. The author of the altarpiece was the famous Danish artist Karl Heinrich Bloch. Before working in Odense, he worked for more than ten years on the painting of the chapel of the Frederiksborg Palace, where he was commissioned to paint 23 images on biblical themes. One of them, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, was also used for the altar of the Church of St. Hans in Odense. It should be noted that the works of Karl Bloch are extremely popular and are used as illustrations for various Christian literature.
The church organ was made by the famous Danish firm Marcussen, which has designed organs for many other European churches and cathedrals, including the Lübeck Cathedral and the New Church in Amsterdam.
In the inner courtyard of the church, there are the ruins of the medieval hospital of St. John, formerly part of the monastery. Also in the church itself there are many ancient epitaphs, tombstones and burials of the city nobility.
