The splendid red brick cathedral with slender spires is considered one of Denmark's most important building monuments. Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, this was Scandinavia's first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick and it encouraged the spread of this style throughout northern Europe. Roskilde Cathedral has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1995

For more than 1000 years there has been a church here, so a tour of Roskilde Cathedral is a tour of Denmark's history.

The present church was started by Bishop Absalon, the founder of Copenhagen, in the 1270s. Since then, the church has been expanded and rebuilt with chapels in several different styles.

Royal Mausoleum

The Cathedral's royal monuments commemorate an outstanding series as royal burials from the 10th century until the present time. With only one exception since the reformation, all Danish kings and queens have been buried in the Cathedral, their tombs representing the evolution of funerary monumental art.

The insane King Christian VII died of a stroke on 13th March 1808 and is also buried in Roskilde Cathedral. He was followed by his son, Frederik VI.