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Aa Church (), located in
"Kirkens historie"
''Aa kirke''. Retrieved 10 July 2012. The church was built in the latter half of the 12th century in several stages. The oldest remaining sections are the choir and
, ''Aa kirke''. Retrieved 10 July 2012. The tower was originally narrower on the western side but was already widened to its current dimensions of 13 by 11 metres during the Romanesque period. With its four floors, it reaches a height of 22 metres. The twin roofs from the 14th century probably replaced a four-sided pyramid. The bells now hang here although they were originally housed in the Bornholm fashion in a separate bell tower to the south of the church. The vaulted rooms in the tower were once used to store foodstuffs. The porch of Nexø sandstone, the oldest on Bornholm, is slightly more recent than the tower but still dates to the Romanesque period around 1200–1235. The nave is large and light with a flat wooden ceiling. The vaulted ceiling from the Gothic period c. 1350 is supported by four rectangular corner pillars. It was earlier divided into two by arcade walls and had a gallery for the nobles from the now ruined Lilleborg Castle. During major restoration work in 1874, the arcade walls were torn down giving the church its present shape. Further restoration was carried out in 1968."Å kirke"
, ''Nordens Kirker''. Retrieved 10 July 2012. The altarpiece and pulpit date from 1603, probably the work of the sculptor Johan Ottho from Lund. With 11 scenes of Jesus' life, the sandstone font from 1200 is ascribed to the Gotland sculptor
File:AaKirke-Bornholm-4.jpg, Romanesque choir and apse
File:Aakirke(30)Sydportal.JPG, South door
File:Aakirke(35)Skibet set mod øst.JPG, Nave
File:Aakirke(37Altertavle).JPG, Altarpiece
File:Aakirke(39)Prædikestol (1).JPG, Pulpit
File:Nordenskirker Aakirke07.jpg, Font
Aa Kirke
{{Bornholm Denmark Churches in Bornholm Romanesque architecture in Denmark Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism
Aa Church (), located in Aakirkeby
Aakirkeby or Åkirkeby is a town in Denmark with a population of 2,117 (1 January 2024). It is the third largest town on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It was the main town of the now abolished Aakirkeby Municipality.
The town is si ...
on the Danish island of Bornholm
Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...
, is a Romanesque church
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Rom ...
dating from the 12th century. It is the parish church of Aaker Parish.
History and architecture
Aa Church, which literally means "stream church", owes its name to the two streams which run beside it. Dedicated toJohn the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
, it was first known as ''Sankt Hans kirke'' (St John's Church). A gilded figure of St John stood in the church until 1706 but was buried in the churchyard by the priest as it was attracting undue attention from Catholic prisoners during the Great Northern War
In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
.''Aa kirke''. Retrieved 10 July 2012. The church was built in the latter half of the 12th century in several stages. The oldest remaining sections are the choir and
apse
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
and the lower parts of the nave, all characterized by greenish sandstone and rust-brown shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...
from nearby Grødby Stream. The western end of the nave and the tower are made of limestone. The men's door to the south and the women's door to the north have both been preserved although the latter has been transformed into a window."Kirkens bygningshistorie", ''Aa kirke''. Retrieved 10 July 2012. The tower was originally narrower on the western side but was already widened to its current dimensions of 13 by 11 metres during the Romanesque period. With its four floors, it reaches a height of 22 metres. The twin roofs from the 14th century probably replaced a four-sided pyramid. The bells now hang here although they were originally housed in the Bornholm fashion in a separate bell tower to the south of the church. The vaulted rooms in the tower were once used to store foodstuffs. The porch of Nexø sandstone, the oldest on Bornholm, is slightly more recent than the tower but still dates to the Romanesque period around 1200–1235. The nave is large and light with a flat wooden ceiling. The vaulted ceiling from the Gothic period c. 1350 is supported by four rectangular corner pillars. It was earlier divided into two by arcade walls and had a gallery for the nobles from the now ruined Lilleborg Castle. During major restoration work in 1874, the arcade walls were torn down giving the church its present shape. Further restoration was carried out in 1968."Å kirke"
, ''Nordens Kirker''. Retrieved 10 July 2012. The altarpiece and pulpit date from 1603, probably the work of the sculptor Johan Ottho from Lund. With 11 scenes of Jesus' life, the sandstone font from 1200 is ascribed to the Gotland sculptor
Sigraf
Sigraf (also Sighraf, Sighrafr, fl. c.1175–1210) was a Romanesque stone sculptor, working on Gotland. He was mainly active as a sculptor of baptismal fonts, but also of reliquaries, carved pillars and reliefs. He was the most productive of s ...
.
See also
*List of churches on Bornholm
This is a list of church (building), churches on the island of Bornholm in eastern Denmark."Kirker på Bornholm"
...
...
References
External links
Aa Kirke
{{Bornholm Denmark Churches in Bornholm Romanesque architecture in Denmark Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism