Tuesday was memory lane day. We started in Valby, my mom's hood. Carlsberg brewery is here, and so is the church where my parents got married, Jesuskirken. Jesuskirken was built by the founder of Carlsberg, J.C. Jacobsen, which makes it the church that beer built. It's probably the most ornate Lutheran church in all of Copenhagen--Bavarian-style Danish beer has done well for itself.
Every column, pew, window, archway has been carved or sculpted in a different design. There's a bunch of marble and mosaic and a Neoclassical Thorvaldsen sculpture, as well as the first French Romantic pipe organ in Denmark (I can hear you oohing and ahhing from here). It's beautiful; definitely the kind of church people dream about getting married in.
We took some time to examine the designs on the end of each pew, and this is the first place we discovered a swastika. Then we realized it was everywhere.
My mom disappeared for a minute and returned with a gentleman who told us that Jacobsen took the swastika as his own symbol in the 1880s. The swastika is ancient, usually a symbol of peace, and was even used by vikings. 1880 was of course pre-Hitler, so Jacobsen couldn't have known the lasting effect it would have when he plastered them all over his church and brewery.
I didn't get a picture of the swastika, but here's another familiar symbol at the end of one of the pews:
This is a classic Masonic symbol, and actually, so is the swastika and the Star of David, which is all over, too. I have a feeling there may have been a lot of Masonic symbols we missed in here! The Masonic Order doesn't seem to be part of the church's lore, though.
My parents in front of Jesuskirken 43 years later:
This devil is off to the right as you walk up the church. Behind him in this picture is one of the many buildings in this neighborhood where some of my family used to live. Throw it up for Valby!
Next will be Valby and the Carlsberg brewery, but it's 3:45, so I have to hit the beach for a jog before it gets too dark.
