Famous for the helter-skelter staircase that spirals up the outside of its spire, the Church of Our Saviour in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen is one of the most distinctive landmarks on the city skyline. The baroque church was completed in the late seventeenth century, but its celebrated corkscrew spire, with an external stair winding to a golden globe near the top, was added in the 1750s. Climbing the spire is the great draw for visitors. After ascending through the tower interior, the bravest continue up the narrowing external staircase that coils around the spire, hundreds of steps in all, to a dizzying viewpoint high above the rooftops, with a golden figure of Christ crowning the summit. The view over Copenhagen and the harbour is unmatched. Inside, the church is a fine example of Danish baroque, its bright interior dominated by an elaborate carved altarpiece and a grand organ supported by sculpted figures. A magnificent set of carved decorations and a font add to the richness of the space. The church also holds one of the most important carillons in northern Europe, a set of bells played from a keyboard, whose tunes ring out over the neighbourhood at intervals through the day, adding sound to the spectacle of the spire. Its location in Christianshavn, a charming quarter of canals, old warehouses and the alternative enclave of Christiania, places it among some of the most atmospheric streets in the city, and the gilded spire serves as a landmark visible from far across the water. For those with a head for heights, the climb is a highlight of any visit to Copenhagen, combining a remarkable feat of baroque architecture with one of the finest and most exhilarating viewpoints the Danish capital has to offer. The spire fame extends well beyond Denmark, having drawn climbers and the merely curious for more than two centuries, and the gilded figure at the top has acquired a quiet legend that its designer, dismayed by an optical illusion that made the spire seem to lean, threw himself from it, a colourful tale long ago disproved but still happily repeated by guides. The neighbourhood around the church, with its cobbled lanes, leaning warehouses and the long Christianshavn canal lined with houseboats, makes the approach to the building part of the pleasure of a visit, and the ringing of the carillon on the hour can stop pedestrians in their tracks below.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Sankt Annae Gade 29, Copenhagen, Denmark

Website: https://www.vorfrelserskirke.dk

Opening Date: 01/01/1695