St. Bodil's Church () is a parish church dating from the 13th century located in Denmark, 4 km west of

Nexø Nexø, sometimes spelled Neksø, is a town on the east coast of the Baltic island of Bornholm, Denmark. With a population of 3,657 (as of 1 January 2025), it is the second largest town, as well as the largest fishing port on the island. Fishing ...

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 ...

."Bodils kirke"
, ''Bornholmerguiden.dk''. Retrieved 13 July 2012.

History

Built around 1200, the church was dedicated to the English saint Botulf but by 1530 it had mistakenly become known by the woman's name "Bodil" although there has never been a Saint Bodil. As a result, the parish is called Bodilsker (Bodil's Church in Bornholm dialect). The church first belonged to the Archbishopric of Lund, then came under the Danish crown at the time of 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 ...

. In the 19th century, it became fully independent. In 1903, as congregations grew, the church was threatened with demolition and reconstruction along the lines of

Østermarie Church Østermarie Church, in the village of Østermarie near Svaneke on the Danish island of Bornholm, was originally built in the early 13th century. While it was being demolished in 1890, it was discovered it was of considerable architectural interes ...

. Thanks to pressure from the National Museum to preserve it in the interests of national heritage action was delayed. The problem of capacity was solved in 1911 by adding a large

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

. The church tower was renovated c. 1913 by the architect

Mathias Bidstrup Mathias Andreas Bidstrup (25 March 1852 – 25 January 1929) was a Danish architect. Biography He was born in Rønne, Bornholm, the son of cobbler Jorgen Bernhard Bidstrup and Marie Hansine Sonne. Mathias Bidstrup attended the Royal Danish ...

.Otto Norn, C. G. Schultz, Erik Skov, "S. Boldils Kirke: Bornholms Nørre Herred"
, Danmarks Kirker, Bornholm, Nationalmuseet, Gad, 1954, pp. 510–531.

Architecture

The church consists of an apse, chancel and nave from the Romanesque period, slightly more recent west tower and a

Late-Gothic Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

porch for the south door. Foundations unearthed beside the tower indicate that it had originally been planned as a larger addition. There are two rounded arches giving access from the nave to the base of the tower."Bodils kirke"
, ''Nordens kirker''. Retrieved 13 July 2012. The large north transept was added in 1911. Although some local sandstone and fieldstone has been used, the predominant building material is limestone which in particular has been used for the door and window frames. The apse ceiling consists of a half-dome vault. There were only three windows in the original building, one in the apse which was restored in 1874 and one on each side of the nave. New windows have since been added. Both the Romanesque portals have been almost fully preserved. The stonework on the south door is particularly well executed. The bell tower, first documented in 1624, is topped by a half-timbered section and originally served as an entrance portal. The main structure dates from around 1600. Minor repairs were carried out in the 18th century.

Inventory and fittings

Close to the entrance, the former Romanesque

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

, made of

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

limestone, is similar to those in

Ny Kirke Ny Kirke (New Church) is a 12th-century round church located in the village of Nyker some 7 km from Rønne on the Danish island of Bornholm. Built in the Romanesque style with two storeys, it contains frescos from various periods and a pulpi ...

and Vestermarie Church but better proportioned. The new granite font stands to the left of the chancel arch. Above the old font is part of the former Renaissance altarpiece, a painting of Christ on the road to Emmaus by

Jørgen Roed Jørgen Roed (13 January 1808 – 8 August 1888), Danish portrait and genre painter associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting, was born in Ringsted to Peder Jørgensen Roed and wife, Ellen Hansdatter. Biography Growing up His father ...

. The two candlesticks on the main altar date from the mid 16th century. The carved oak

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 ...

from c. 1600 has four panels depicting the evangelists and their symbols.

Local legend

On one of the bell tower walls, a round stone known as the Devil's Hat (''Fandens hat'') can be seen. The local legend tells of how a priest was followed by the devil as he returned home one night. He reached the churchyard before he could be caught but the devil was so furious he hurled his hat at the priest. It did not hit him but instead was lodged in the wall of the bell tower where it can still be seen today. Bodils kirke.jpg, Seen from the east Nordenskirker Bodil06.jpg, Nave and chancel Nordenskirker Bodil08.jpg, Nave and old font

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodil's Church Churches in Bornholm Romanesque architecture in Denmark Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism