Minimalism, rigor, and faith: three words that define the work of Johan Otto von Spreckelsen (1929–1987), the Danish architect behind Paris’s Grande Arche de la Défense. Though he rose to international fame in France, his true legacy can be traced across Denmark in the form of four remarkable churches. Together, they form a quiet pilgrimage route just beyond Copenhagen, with one outlier on the wild west coast of Jutland. This ATN itinerary takes you on a journey through suburban landscapes, red-brick façades, and austere interiors, following the footsteps of a reclusive architect who believed that God could be found in the form of a cube.
Stop 1: Hvidovre Kirke
📍 Hvidovre, south of Copenhagen
Built in the late 1950s, this Catholic church was Spreckelsen’s first commission. At the request of the parish priest, the exterior recalls the outline of a ship — a nod to the “boat of Christ.” But step inside and you’ll find the architect’s distinctive touch: a wooden checkerboard ceiling that reshapes the interior into a “distorted cube,” swelling upward like a wave.
👉 Why visit: To see the seeds of Spreckelsen’s geometric thinking, disguised beneath a parish priest’s vision.
Stop 2: Vangede Kirke
📍 Vangede, north Copenhagen suburb
Inaugurated in 1974, this Lutheran church is all about simplicity. From the outside, red brick volumes suggest modesty, even anonymity. Inside, the cubic proportions come alive in light and shadow. Later, Spreckelsen added a detached bell tower of steel and glass — an elegant gesture inspired by Italian campanili.
👉 Why visit: For the balance of austerity and invention, and to see Spreckelsen experiment with modularity.
Stop 3: Stavnsholtkirken, Farum
📍 Farum, 25 km northwest of Copenhagen
Completed in 1981, this yellow-brick church was one of Spreckelsen’s last works before he turned to the Grande Arche. The exterior may seem unassuming, but the cubic geometry of the interior reveals his most rigorous approach to form.
👉 Why visit: To experience Spreckelsen at the height of his minimalist language, just before his Parisian adventure.
Stop 4: St. Nicholas Church, Esbjerg
📍 Esbjerg, west coast of Jutland
Locals call it kubekirken — “the cube church” — and for good reason. Built in 1969, this Catholic church is the most direct precursor to the Grande Arche. A massive cubic volume rendered in pale stone, it is austere yet luminous, monumental yet human in scale.
👉 Why visit: Because this is the church where the cube becomes sacred, a clear foreshadowing of Spreckelsen’s Parisian masterpiece.
Suggested Detour: Bagsværd Kirke by Jørn Utzon
📍 Bagsværd, north of Copenhagen
Not by Spreckelsen, but worth the stop. Utzon, the architect of the Sydney Opera House, designed this church in 1976. Behind its plain exterior lies a soaring interior with undulating concrete vaults inspired by clouds. Utzon and Spreckelsen shared similar fates: visionary architects who clashed with bureaucracy.
👉 Why visit: To see how two Danish masters explored spirituality through radically different forms.
Practical Notes
Timing: All four Spreckelsen churches can be visited in a day trip by car around Copenhagen, except for Esbjerg, which is a three-hour drive (or train ride) west and works best as a standalone excursion.
Access: The churches are active places of worship, so check opening times before visiting. Most welcome quiet visitors outside of services.
Best experience: Go in the late afternoon, when natural light reveals the cubic interiors in their most dramatic dimension.
ATN Insight
This itinerary is more than an architectural tour. It’s a meditation on rigor, solitude, and faith. Spreckelsen, a quiet professor who built just four churches and one global monument, left behind a legacy that feels both monumental and fragile. His cube churches invite us to reflect not on excess, but on the purity of form — architecture as ascetic devotion.
Read more on ATN
