Church of Our Lady: A Medieval Five-Towered Church in Kalundborg, Denmark
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Denmark
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Danish
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page14 sections
History
The Church of Our Lady is a medieval church in Kalundborg, Denmark, associated with the Romanesque period and founded around 1170. Its red-brick construction cannot predate that year, although its architectural features suggest that much of the building may belong to the early thirteenth century, perhaps within the period 1170–1190. The church is now part of the Church of Denmark, Denmark’s established Evangelical Lutheran church, within the Diocese of Roskilde, Kalundborg Deanery, and Vor Frue Parish.
Foundation beside Esbern Snare’s castle
The church’s foundation is linked with Esbern Snare, a twelfth-century Danish nobleman and military figure who established a castle at Kalundborg in 1170. Local tradition also associates the foundation with his daughter, Ingeborg Strangessøn, and her husband, Peter. A small medieval town developed beside the castle under its protection, and the church formed part of this early settlement.
The building was incorporated into the castle’s defensive surroundings, although only limited evidence indicates that it functioned as a fortified church. Its fortress-like form is instead connected with the medieval image of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the final city of God described in the Book of Revelation. In this understanding, the five towers represented a fortified sacred city rather than simply a military installation.
Later medieval changes
During the fourteenth century, Kalundborg Friary took over the castle’s defensive role. The friary later fell into ruin, while parts of its encircling walls and ditches survived. The churchyard walls also remain, together with houses dating from around 1500 that form part of the boundary.
Collapse and restoration
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the church had deteriorated considerably. Its central tower collapsed on 7 September 1827, probably as a result of structural weaknesses combined with unsafe interior repairs. No one was injured, but many medieval furnishings were destroyed in the collapse.
Vilhelm Tvede directed a major restoration between 1867 and 1871, including the rebuilding of the central tower. Andreas Clemmensen and Mogens Clemmensen led another campaign from 1916 to 1921, aiming to recover the building’s earlier appearance. During this work, the entrances and windows were reconstructed. In December 2008, Kalundborg Municipality, supported by leading Danish architects, proposed that the Danish cultural authorities seek the church’s inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The building is described as one of Europe’s most unusual medieval religious buildings.
Remains
The church is built in red brick on a Greek-cross plan, meaning that four arms of approximately equal length extend from a square central space. Each arm ends in a polygonal terminal, a multi-sided closing section. The composition is dominated by a central tower and four smaller towers, creating a five-towered arrangement that is described as unique in Northern European architecture. The exposed brickwork forms a major part of the interior’s present character.
Central and lateral towers
Mary’s Tower
The central tower, known as Mary’s Tower, is square in plan and rises 44 metres above the church. Four granite columns support it, each approximately 6.2 metres high. The tower’s reconstruction belongs to Tvede’s restoration of 1867–1871, after the medieval central tower collapsed in 1827.
The four side towers
Four octagonal towers, each 34 metres high, rise above the ends of the cross arms. They are dedicated to St. Anne in the east, St. Gertrude in the west, St. Mary Magdalene in the south, and St. Catherine in the north. The towers received pointed gables during the nineteenth-century restoration, and their caps were covered with copper.
Plan and construction
The window arches, pilasters, and recessed internal columns suggest the involvement of Lombard builders, craftsmen from northern Italy whose masonry traditions influenced Romanesque architecture elsewhere in Europe. The brickwork has been compared with other early brick buildings in the region, including St. Bendt’s Church in Ringsted. The plan has been associated with Byzantine models, while the grouped towers have been compared with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and with major churches in France and the Rhineland. The building’s age and architectural character have also been compared with Tournai Cathedral in present-day Belgium. Some details have been related to building activity associated with the Hvide family, a powerful Danish aristocratic family, at Ringsted and Sorø.
Vaults, sacristies, and entrances
The original barrel vaults of the transepts, the cross arms set across the church’s main axis, survive. The nave columns and vaults were reconstructed. A medieval sacristy along the north side of the chancel is well preserved. Built around 1400, it received an additional upper storey around 1500.
A late-Gothic sacristy was added to the eastern cross arm. A late-Gothic porch, or weapons house, once stood at the southeast portal but was demolished in 1870. A fragment of a mural dating from around 1225 survives in the chancel’s north window and shows that the interior was originally decorated with wall paintings.
Furnishings and interior features
Baptismal font and crucifix
The original furnishings largely disappeared, but a Romanesque granite baptismal font remains. The font was carved by a mason who worked for Esbern Snare’s family. A wooden crucifix from the rood altar, the altar associated with a Crucifixion image at the division between nave and chancel, dates from around 1500.
Altarpiece and pulpit
The Baroque altarpiece was designed in 1650 by Lorentz Jørgensen, a woodcarver from Holbæk. Its imagery includes the Nativity, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Four Evangelists. The pulpit dates from about 1870–1871 and is attributed to Vilhelm Tvede; its painting is associated with Anton Dorph.
Bells and organ
The church has four bells, with two suspended in each of the north and south towers. They were cast in 1502 by Olaus Benedicti, in 1702 by Steffen Scherrenbein, in 1732 by Johan Barthold Holtzmann, and in 1939 by the Brønderslev foundry.
The organ loft above the porch in the west transept was completed in 1921. The organ itself was built by Theodor Frobenius & Co. in 1957.
