Hull: Oldest overseas Danish Church marks anniversary
The world's oldest overseas Danish Church is marking the 70th anniversary of its reopening after the original was destroyed in a World War Two air raid.
The building in Osborne Street in Hull opened in 1871 as a place of worship for the city's Danish community and for visiting sailors.
The night before its 70th anniversary in 1941 it was flattened by German bombers.
It was rebuilt on the opposite side of the road in mid 50s Scandinavian style.
Now named Nordic House, the church is a thriving community centre and holds a popular Scandinavian Christmas market each November.
Its reconstruction will be marked with a special service on Sunday conducted by a pastor from Denmark.
The ceremony will feature a local opera singer performing a song by Danish composer Carl Nielsen.
Church manager Charlotte Theill said that a pastor had joked he hoped "nothing untoward happens on the evening before".
Referring back to 9 May 1941, Ms Theill said: "They were getting ready to celebrate".
"Luckily nobody was injured, but obviously the building was destroyed."
A mangled candelabra was recovered from the ruins of the original St Nikolaj Danish Seamen's Church. It was repaired and now sits on the new altar.
Alongside it is a fragment of stained glass from the old church, which was incorporated into the new windows.
With no resident pastor church services rely on visiting Lutheran clergy from Denmark or elsewhere in the UK.
Ms Theill said the church still functions as a place of worship and is "open to anyone".
"We're calling ourselves a Scandinavian community centre," she said.
"Obviously a lot of people use the space, hire the the rooms for their own meetings or events."
She described the church as "a little piece of home".
"It's wonderful coming to work and and just having a bit of Denmark here, I love that," she said.
"The lamps, the architecture, everything is 50s Denmark really, it's wonderful."
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