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The Priorvej Chapel in Frederiksberg, Denmark, was dedicated by Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on June 14, 1931. On this day, Elder Widtsoe dedicated the building “to be a place where Thy truth, the eternal gospel of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, shall be taught, both by precept and example, and where the introductory ordinances, which belong to this Church, can be performed.”
Approximately 73 years later, the chapel would continue to fulfill that holy purpose to a higher degree with its renovation and conversion to the Copenhagen Denmark Temple. Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the house of the Lord on May 23, 2004.
Dee V. Jacobs, the building’s first temple president, said that although Latter-day Saints were a minority in Copenhagen, the Church is strong in the area. He said, “On any Sunday, you can go to any ward in Copenhagen and you will find it is the same as the big wards in Sweden, and the wards in Sweden are like wards in the United States. ... That’s where you see the strength. These members are true and faithful to the core.”
“It has served very well through these years,” President Hinckley said of the Priorvej Chapel at the dedication. “It was deemed advisable that we should convert it to a temple. It is all new inside. It is in a good location, and we had the land, which is almost impossible to get in Copenhagen. A miracle has been wrought.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May these halls and rooms be hallowed to all who walk herein. When they enter the portals of this structure, we ask that the evils of the world may be left behind and that the refreshing and beautiful manifestation of Thy Holy Spirit be felt.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Copenhagen Denmark Temple here.
A temple for Copenhagen, Denmark, was announced March 17, 1999, via letters to local Church leaders in the temple district by the First Presidency, at the time consisting of Church President Gordon B. Hinckley and his counselors — President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust.
The site for the temple was dedicated April 24, 1999, by Elder Spencer J. Condie, president of the Europe North Area. The Priorvej Chapel in Frederiksberg, Denmark, would be renovated and converted into the new temple, so a site dedication took place without a traditional groundbreaking ceremony.
The public was invited to tour the Copenhagen Denmark Temple from May 1-15, 2004. Nearly 600 invited guests — including members of Parliament, mayors, leaders of businesses and prominent clergy from Denmark — walked through the temple on guided VIP tours on April 27-28. A total of 25,512 visitors toured the temple throughout the event.
The Copenhagen Denmark Temple was dedicated in four sessions by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley on May 23, 2004. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also spoke at the sessions. Some 3,400 Church members from Denmark, Iceland and southern Sweden attended the dedication.
A temple for Copenhagen, Denmark, was announced March 17, 1999. Elder Spencer J. Condie, president of the Europe North Area, dedicated the temple site on April 24, 1999.
Visitors toured the completed house of the Lord from May 1-15, 2004, during its public open house. The Copenhagen Denmark Temple was dedicated May 23, 2004, by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley.
The Copenhagen Denmark Temple has a total floor area of approximately 25,000 square feet and was converted into a temple from the former Priorvej Chapel in Frederiksberg, Denmark. Its unique architecture is reminiscent of Solomon’s Temple from the Bible, with a front porch and four large pillars in front of the main entrance.
The temple retained many elements of the chapel that stood on the site previously, including the traditional hand-formed redbrick exterior and the original front door. During the renovation, granite steps to the front door were added, along with a reflecting pool and a private garden, both of which are surrounded by a brick wall.
The interior of the temple features two endowment rooms and two sealing rooms, and handcrafted furniture accents the house of the Lord.
17 March 1999
23 May 2004
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This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Denmark.
Before it was converted into a temple, the Copenhagen Denmark Temple was originally a chapel in Frederiksberg, Denmark, dedicated June 14, 1931, by Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The temple retained the same front door and original redbrick exterior from the Priorvej Chapel.
Its site was dedicated the same day as the San José Costa Rica Temple site dedication and groundbreaking.
President Jens Andersen, president of the Copenhagen Denmark Stake, was interviewed on a radio show in Denmark during the open house period.
A special tour was held during the open house for those who lived in the apartment buildings next to the temple. One neighbor told a temple worker during the tour, “What I love about it is that it fits into the community. You have made it so beautiful that it doesn’t stand out. It is like it belongs.”
It was dedicated the month before the Manhattan New York Temple was dedicated. Both edifices were constructed from existing Church buildings.
President Hinckley’s wife, Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley, passed away a month and a half before this temple dedication. In the Copenhagen temple’s dedicatory prayer, the Prophet testified of eternal relationships made possible through temple ordinances and covenants: “Let Thy blessings rest upon those who gather to receive the other ordinances of Thy holy temple, that they may ... be sealed together as husbands and wives, as parents and children, in a bond that death cannot destroy and time cannot break.
This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Denmark.
Before it was converted into a temple, the Copenhagen Denmark Temple was originally a chapel in Frederiksberg, Denmark, dedicated June 14, 1931, by Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The temple retained the same front door and original redbrick exterior from the Priorvej Chapel.
Its site was dedicated the same day as the San José Costa Rica Temple site dedication and groundbreaking.
President Jens Andersen, president of the Copenhagen Denmark Stake, was interviewed on a radio show in Denmark during the open house period.
A special tour was held during the open house for those who lived in the apartment buildings next to the temple. One neighbor told a temple worker during the tour, “What I love about it is that it fits into the community. You have made it so beautiful that it doesn’t stand out. It is like it belongs.”
It was dedicated the month before the Manhattan New York Temple was dedicated. Both edifices were constructed from existing Church buildings.
President Hinckley’s wife, Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley, passed away a month and a half before this temple dedication. In the Copenhagen temple’s dedicatory prayer, the Prophet testified of eternal relationships made possible through temple ordinances and covenants: “Let Thy blessings rest upon those who gather to receive the other ordinances of Thy holy temple, that they may ... be sealed together as husbands and wives, as parents and children, in a bond that death cannot destroy and time cannot break.