Kettinge is a village and parish in southeastern

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 ...

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 ...

. It belongs to Guldborgsund Municipality, in

Region Zealand Region Zealand () is an Regions of Denmark, administrative region of Denmark. It is one of the five classified Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-2 statistical NUTS statistical regions of Denmark, regions of Denmark. It was es ...

. As of 2025 the village has a population of 516.

Etymology

The name comes from ''kat'' (cat) and the ending ''inge'' and means "place with cats". The ending also indicates the place originated in the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

before 600 AD."Historie"
Kettinge Bylav. . Retrieved 30 November 2012.

History

Kettinge Church still bears traces of a Romanesque nave and chancel, showing it was built around 1200. It is best known for its frescos painted by the

Elmelunde Master The Elmelunde Master, Danish ''Elmelundemesteren'', is the designation given to the nameless 16th-century artist who painted the frescos in the churches of Elmelunde Church, Elmelunde, Fanefjord Church, Fanefjord and Keldby Church, Keldby on the ...

c. 1500.Kirsten Weber-Andersen, Otto Norn, Aage Roussell, Gertrud Købke Knudsen, "Vegerløse Kirke"
''Danmarks kirker: Maribo amt, Volume 8'', 1951, Nationalmuseet, pages 1087–1100. Retrieved 14 November 2012. The present Kettinge Mølle (Kettinge Windmill) dates from 1891, replacing an even older

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single central vertical post. The vertical post is supported by four quarter bars. These ar ...

."Kettinge Mølle"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 30 November 2012. From 1909 until c. 1960, Kettinge was a railway station on the line from

Nysted Nysted is a town in Guldborgsund Municipality in Region Zealand on the southeastern coast of the island of Lolland in south Denmark. Nysted is located on the southern coast of Lolland, and has a population of 1,265 (1 January 2024).Nykøbing. At the beginning of the 20th century, the village flourished with shops, an electric power station, a brickworks and a sawmill.

The village today

Although most of the old businesses have now closed, Kettinge has a day nursery, a sports hall and an open-air swimming pool. "''Kettinge Bylav''" is the name given to the old ''tingsted'' or moot near the windmill, marking the place where the village elders used to meet to take administrative decisions. It has recently been renewed, as has the mill itself."Kettinge-Frejlev"
, Guldborg Kommune. Retrieved 30 November 2012.

Surroundings

Kettinge is only from