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Founded: 1494-1520Category: Religious sites in Denmark
Historical period: Kalmar Union (Denmark)
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St. Morten's church is the only of the five Middle Age churches in Randers that remain today. It was built around 1494-1520 as a replacement for the earlier Middle Age church by the same name. It is dedicated to St. Martin of Tours. The church was handed over to Helligåndsbrødrenes Kloster (the Monastery of the Brothers of the Holy Spirit) whose abbot Jens Mathiasen was builder of the existing church. It made up a wing of Helligåndklostret (the Monestary of the Holy Spirit) of which the neighbouring Helligåndshus (House of the Holy Spirit) is also a remnant.
The church is built of medieval large bricks in late Gothic style. Ever since 1534, the church has been a parish church. However, the tower with its characteristic onion steeple was not built until 1795-97. Around the church was the cemetary which was abolished in 1812 and ever since, it has been a market place.
The façade is a beautiful Baroque work from 1751. In 2004 Per Kirkeby's modern alter tableau illustrating Good Friday in Gethsemane Garden was unveiled.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.