Denmark's capital has unveiled its first 'tiny church'.

The 76-square-metre construction officially opened on Sunday in Nordhavn (North Harbor), which is a district on the outskirts of Copenhagen and is part of the Hans Egedes Parish.

The concept of a very small, mobile church originated in the Netherlands and emphasises both portability and compact size. Cost-effective construction is also a key factor.

The Danish church is built of wood with skylights in the church room, a veranda with benches as well as having twelve walls in reference to the twelve Apostles.

The project grew out of the need for more infrastructure in the district, where the local population had been expanding very fast. The original plans were to build a permanent church, but that was put on hold by the city planning department.

Speaking to Premier News, Tiny Church Nordhavn's Project manager, Johanne Dal-Lewkovitch, said: "Instead of seeing this as a setback, we decided to rethink this concept."

"And then we had an idea of this tiny church, and then we started doing some research."

Dal-Lewkovitch says architect Julius Nilsson -  a Christian himself - had been experimenting with different forms and that the idea behind the twelve sides came to him as it gave a more usable space.

"And then something very beautiful was happening, because the symbolism of these twelve sides clicked and resonated with the Christian tradition, with the twelve Apostles. So actually, it was not on purpose."

Dal-Lewkovitch says the church can be moved quite easily, as it is not a permanent structure, and this approach could potentially change how churches are planted.

"In the old days, you built the churches, and then you made the community around the churches. But today, you build the city, and there are a lot of cities where they don't think about churches, you know, it's the second role, so it's a completely new way of church planting, isn't it?"

Christianity is the largest religion in Denmark.  Seventy-one per cent of the population are registered members of the Lutheran Church of Denmark (Den Danske Folkekirke), though church attendance is not very high, with only 2.4 per cent of church members attending services weekly.