At the invitation of King Frederick IV, the first Huguenots arrived in Fredericia in 1719. Their reputation as skilled farmers, in particular as tobacco planters and assiduous workers, had preceded them. They were granted royal privileges (freedom of religion, exemption from taxes and from draft, free land, royal and financial support for their pastors and their church buildings). The Huguenots settled down in the garrison town of Fredericia. Their way of farming soon became a model for the whole of Denmark. The congregation spoke the language of the resident garrison — first French, later German, and, since 1938, Danish. Pastors have come from France, Switzerland, and now Germany.
Today the congregation has one pastor and 300 members; about one fifth of them live scattered throughout Denmark.
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