The imposing Cathedral of St Luke stands on slightly raised ground on the site of three earlier churches, including the wooden church believed to have been built by King Harald Bluetooth. The building of Bishop Absalon's cathedral began about 1170 to the plan of a Romanesque basilica with transepts, but this plan was modified around 1200 under the influence of French Gothic.
The church, in red brick, thus displays a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, and the exterior is further altered by the addition over the years of several funerary chapels. For more than 500 years the Cathedral has been the burial place of the kings and queens of Denmark. The two west towers were added in the 14th C., and their slender spires, sheathed in copper, are dated 1635-6. The "Royal Door" between the towers is opened only for royal funerals; visitors must enter by the south door.
The choir is particularly notable for the magnificent mid-15th C. carved choir stalls; they were so constructed as to make it easier for the choirboys to stand during services.
Above the stalls are reliefs with scenes from the Old Testament (south side) and New Testament (north side). An interesting feature of the New Testament series is the representation of the Ascension; the footprints left by Christ can be seen on the ground, while his feet are still visible at the top of the scene.
Winged altar
The large gilded winged altar in the choir, made in Antwerp in the 16th C., was originally intended for the Chapel of Frederiksborg Castle, but was presented to Roskilde by Christian IV. The pictures on the wings of the altar portray scenes from the Life of Christ - from the Nativity to his Crucifixion. The altar has been excellently restored following a fire in 1968; as part of the restoration the renowned needlewoman Anna Thommesen made a new altar-cloth. Behind the altar lies the tomb, artistically worked in alabaster, of Queen Margarethe I.
Note also the bronze font (1602) and - in the central aisle - the pulpit of sandstone, marble and black limestone.
Ambulatory
The ambulatory used by the members of the choir leads around the chancel. Note the "Hehlestens sten", a stone with no inscription which is said to mark the tomb of a "hehlest", a headless horse which heralds the approach of death; in fact it is probably the grave of a beheaded man.
Funerary chapels
The Chapel of Christian IV, on the north side of the cathedral, has massive ogival vaulting. On the walls can be seen paintings by William Marstrand, showing scenes from the king's life, while at the entrance is a bronze statue of Christian IV by Bertel Thorvaldsen. The chapel, containing several coffins, is separated from the church by an imaginatively designed grille.
Also on the north side are the chapels of Christian IX, St Brigitte (frescoes of 1511) and St Andrew.
From the Chapel of Christian IV the visitor should proceed to the middle of the church where, on the north wall, can be seen the Royal Gallery and the Renaissance "Throne of Christian IV", richly carved and gilded. Opposite the gallery is the organ, which was restored in 1988-91.
The Chapel of Christian I, known as the Chapel of the Three Kings, on the south side, has a roof of ribbed vaulting supported on a granite column. The column is marked with the heights of various kings: the tallest - that of Christian I and marked by the king himself - is 2.1m/6ft 9in, although in fact his skeleton measures only 1.88m/6ft 2in. It can be seen that Peter the Great of Russia, who stayed in Denmark in 1716, stood head and shoulders above most of the others. The walls are decorated with chalk drawings, mainly of Biblical subjects; also of interest are two coats-of-arms on the east wall. Christian I and his consort as well as other rulers and their wives are buried in this chapel. Originally Christian I intended that this chapel should be the assembly-room for an Order of Knights he had founded; this led to the story of the Order of the Elephant.
Also on the south side of the cathedral is Frederik V's Neo-classical chapel, modeled on the Pantheon in Rome, with a dome and high windows which let plenty of light into the chapel. On the roof can be seen the slender "Margarethe Spire" which - according to tradition - Erich of Pommern caused to be built.
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