St Martin's Church (Sankt Mortens Kirke) is one of the city's medieval churches. Known from records since approximately 1280, it is believed to have been built and put into service around 1200. The building was constructed as the city's parish church. It is dedicated to St Martin of Tours considered its patron saint.
The church is a Gothic structure built with bricks. The oldest parts of the church are from the 1220s. The tower was added in the 15th century but the baptismal chapel and the porch were completed as late as the 1850s.
The arches bear a portrait of St Martin. There are many frescoes of the period; one depicts him as a soldier sitting on his horse, while he cuts a piece of his officer cap and gives it to a beggar. The church's first organ, installed in 1587, was made by Hans Brebus (d. 1603), a Flemish organ builder who practiced in Denmark and Sweden. The altarpiece (1667) of 6m height is decorated with figures wearing grotesque masks or with mustaches, some of whom are stooping low) and is attributed to thewoodcarver Abel Schrøder (1602-1676) who was also the church's organist for forty-two years. Today's Frobenius organ dates to 1975. The pulpit was built by Abel Schrøder's father.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.