Last modified: 2026-11-14 by martin karner
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photo
by Klaus-Michael Schneider (12 August 2026)The green banner is placed into the nameless church of the Moravian Church in Christiansfeld
(Kolding) in Denmark. It is the greatest hall church in
Denmark not supported by any columns.
Christiansfeld was founded on 1 April 1773 on behalf of the Danish King Christian VII. Visiting Holland,
the king was impressed by a settlement of the Brethren and by their diligence and cleanliness. He gave
permission to the the Brethren to settle in his seigniory in Tyrstrup (Kolding).
He granted special privileges to the community like exemption from customs duties. Furthermore the
settlement gained the status of a market town (German: Flecken), which was however not officialised
until 1869 due to Prussian local govenment law. The settlement was placed into the Duchy of Slesvig
outside the Danish core territory in order to avoid conflicts with the Dansk Folkekirken.
The Moravian Church, also called Herrnhut Brethren (German: Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine or Evangelische
Brüder-Unität or Erneuerte Brüder-Unität / Latin: Unitas Fratrum) is a Protestant
denomination, which suffered persecution by the Roman Catholic Church in the Habsburg Empire and were
expelled. Nicolaus Ludwig Count of Zinzendorf
(1700–1760) gave refuge to the brethen on his possessions in Berthelsdorf in Upper Lusatia,
where the name giving settlement Herrnhut was founded. The church nowadays is one of the biggest
denominations of Pietism worldwide.
The banner is green with white embroideries shifted to top. It displays within a circle a Paschal Lamb
passant regardant with a flag on a stylised globe with lines of
longitude and latitude. The nimbus of the lamb is adorned with a
cross patty.
Further information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravian_Church
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiansfeld
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 November 2026