Errindlev Church is located in the village of Errindlev some 8 km northwest of

Rødby Rødby is a town located on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 1,957 (1 January 2024).Danish island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

. Dating from the second half of the 12th century, the church has a Romanesque

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

.Kirsten Weber-Andersen, Otto Norn, Aage Roussell, Gertrud Købke Knudsen, "Errindlev Kirke"
''Danmarks kirker: Maribo amt, Volume 8'', 1951, Nationalmuseet, pages 689-702. Retrieved 14 July 2013.

History

The church is said to have been dedicated to

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

because of its associations with seafarers who used it as a landmark. After the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

it belonged to the Crown until in 1699 it was transferred to Flemming Holck of

Lungholm Lungholm is a manor house and estate located on the island of Lolland in southeastern Denmark. It has been owned by members of the Lehn family since 1784. The three-winged main building was listed on the Listed buildings in Lolland Municipality, ...

whose estate was acquired by

Christian Detlev Reventlow Christian Detlev, Count von Reventlow (21 June 1671 – 1 October 1738) was a Royal Dano-Norwegian Army officer and diplomat. Biography He was the son of Conrad, Count Reventlow, chancellor of Denmark, and his first wife, Anna Margarethe Gab ...

. As a result, it later came under his estate Christianssæde. In 1784, it was removed from the authority of the estate together with Lungholm and became part of the barony established in 1819. The church gained its independence in 1924.

Architecture

The church consists of a Romanesque

and

with a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

extension and a tower built at the time of the Reformation. Gothic star-shaped vaulting was completed in the nave c. 1275."Errindlev kirke"
. Retrieved 14 July 2013. The Gothic porch on the south side was demolished in 1619 and a new half-timbered porch was built on the north side. Only about half of the Romanesque chancel and nave have remained. Traces of two round-arched windows can be seen in the chancel, one on either side while there is evidence of rounded Romanesque doors in the nave. Building of the tower started in 1530 but was discontinued before it was completed. After numerous difficulties in the supply of bricks, it was finally finished in 1607.

References

{{coord, 54, 40, 06, N, 11, 29, 47, E, display=title Lolland Churches in Lolland Romanesque church buildings Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism Churches in the Diocese of Lolland–Falster

History

Architecture

See also

References