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Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, Roskilde Cathedral was Scandinavia's first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick and it encouraged the spread of this style throughout northern Europe. It has been the mausoleum of the Danish royal family since the 15th century.
Roskilde Cathedral is a large brick-built aisled Gothic-style basilica, with twin spires and a semi-circular gallery within. Placed on a small hilltop overlooking the Roskilde Fjord the Cathedral is a very significant landmark.
Built about 1170, the original Cathedral structure was in Romanesque form but, when half-built, the plan was changed under the influence of the incoming Gothic style from France. In the following centuries, chapels, porches, and other structures were added, each in the current architectural style of the time.
As with many early structures, the bricks in the external walls vary in size and colour. The interior walls were originally left bare, apart from the vault and arch soffits, which were plastered. The entire interior was subsequently coated with a greyish-yellow coloured smooth stucco, and most of the rich original wall paintings have disappeared.
The photo shows a panoramic view.
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