Eskilstrup Church (Danish: ''Eskilstrup Kirke'') is a church in

Eskilstrup Eskilstrup is a town some north of Nykøbing Falster on the Danish island of Falster. As of 2024, it had a population of 1,082. History Eskilstrup Church, built in the Romanesque style, dates from the 12th century. In accordance with local t ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The church dates from the 12th century and was built in the Romanesque style. In accordance with a local tradition, it is painted red. It is best known for its

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s, said to be Denmark's oldest.Jens Kinkel, "Eskilstrup Kirke"
Danmarks Kirker. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

History

At the beginning of the 16th century, the church was owned by the bishopric under the administration of its seat at Sørup on

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 ...

. In 1694, it was annexed to

Ønslev Church Ønslev is a village north of Nykøbing on the Danish island of Falster. In January 2025 it had a population of 395. Etymology The name is made up of the man's name "''Øthan''" and "''lef''", hereditary estate. It is first documented in the ...

, 3 km to the west. 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 came under the Crown until 1767 when it was sold into private ownership. It was, however, soon reacquired by the State until 1852 when it was sold to the farmers of the parish. It gained full independence in 1933.

Architecture

The church consists of a Late Romanesque

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 ' ...

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 ...

and 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 ( ...

tower and porch, all built of brick. Pilaster strips decorate the corners of the nave and chancel. The apse and chancel have a rounded foundation base. There is a three-sided wall at the east end of the apse while there are round-arched windows in the side walls. The toothed cornice is decorated a saw-toothed trimming which runs along pilasters to the chancel gable. The nave walls are similarly decorated with cornices and pilasters. The chancel windows resemble those of the apse but they have been extended downwards.

Interior and fittings

The apse's original vaulting develops from a polygonal base to a quarter dome terminating in the rounded apse arch. During the Gothic period, the chancel ceiling was

cross-vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...

ed while the chancel arch was widened and given a pointed top. The nave has retained a flat ceiling. The red brick tower on a

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

base has flat arched windows to the south and west. It opens into the nave through a large irregular arch. The

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

(1617) is rather a rough piece of rural craftmanship. The large cornice is borne by two

Ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite o ...

s. The central painting by Stefan Viggo Pedersen (1926) depicts the announcement of Jesus' birth to the shepherds. Designed by

Jørgen Ringnis Jørgen Ringnis, also known as "Jørgen Billedsnider", (birth unknown, died 1652 in Nakskov) was a Danish woodcarver. He created a number of altarpieces and pulpits in Danish churches, especially on the islands of Lolland and Falster.

, the intricately carved

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

(1639) is in the

Auricular style The auricular style or lobate style (Dutch: ''kwabstijl'', German: ''Ohrmuschelstil'') is a style of ornamental decoration, mainly found in Northern Europe in the first half of the 17th century, bridging Northern Mannerism and the Baroque. The st ...

. With the

four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

in shell-framed panels, it closely resembles the pulpit in

's Ryde Church. The pilasters have however been renewed during rebuilding work in 1805 although the

cherub A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...

heads and ornamental decorations have been retained. The hexagonal canopy bears a dove at the top and angels' heads on the corners. The pulpit, staircase and canope are varnished but not coloured.

Frescos

In 1893, frescos were discovered in the apse and chancel, dating to the second half of the 13th century. The chancel fresco, restored by E. Lind in 1942, includes scenes from Christ's childhood including the Flight to Egypt depicting Joseph, Mary and the ass. They are said to be among the oldest in the region."Eskilstrup Sogn"
Folkekirken i Lolland-Falsters Stift. Retrieved 20 December 2012.

References

External links

with many illustrations. {{coord, 54, 51, 27, N, 11, 52, 53, E, display=title Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism Romanesque architecture in Denmark Churches in Falster Church frescos in Denmark Churches in the Diocese of Lolland–Falster