Denmark - Roskilde's Domkirke

While I was intent on seeing thousand year old Viking ships in Roskilde, I was unexpectedly awed by the town cathedral. I would argue if you can visit only one site in Roskilde, make it the Domkirke.

The Domkirke began life as a wooden church circa 985, built by King Harold Bluetooth, who had converted to Christianity. (He's reputed to be buried somewhere on the grounds, but no one knows where.) That wooden church was replaced in the next century by a stone church, financed by King Canute's sister. And that stone church was replaced by a far larger brick church sometime around 1170. Over the next 100 years or so, the catheral got bigger and differenter. It is a odd yet charming mix of this and that, and it all kind of works. Here you can see Steven reading a tombstone on the floor. If you were rich enough, you could pay for such a tribute, though only until 1807. (In fact, the nice volunteer docent told us there are a thousand people buried beneath this church!!)

What makes this cathedral extra special is that it has become the final resting place of Danish monarchs since about 986, with some gaps here and there. If you guess that all the King Christians and all the King Frederiks are buried here, you would be mostly right. (The Kings like to alternate between those two names.) Only Frederik I is missing.

There's Christian I (d. 1481) (see his ornate chapel above) through Christian 10 (d. 1947), and then Frederick II, who died 1588, up through Frederik IX, who died in 1972.

Queen Margrete I (d. 1412) is here as well, topped with a marble effigy and gold crown.

Margrete II, the current reigning queen of Denmark, will also be interred in the cathedral, in Saint Birgitta's Chapel, which is decorated with frescos paintedin the 1500s, and includes a delightfully happy horse devil.

The current queen has decided she will be encased in a unique glass sarcophagus, a model of which I viewed. This highlights that each monarch creates their own signature look for their final abode. And that makes this cathedral uniquely fascinating.