The Højerup Old Church on Stevns Klint, Denmark

 

As you know, after my last post on the Church of St. Mary in Sæby, I want to keep showing posts on other Denmark churches that really grabbed our attention.

Today's church is the UNESCO Højerup Old Church in Store Heddinge that sits on the Stevns Klint (cliff), 30+ meters above the Baltic Sea on Denmark's southern Zealand island:

We were there on June 18, 3 days before driving back home.

As you see, it sits at the edge of the limestone cliff, which is part of it's story and intrigue!

As churches go, it's very small and cozy.  A real charm!

It's architecture is Romanesque.

But as the story goes, a distressed boater at sea promised that, if saved, he'd build a chapel.

This is that chapel, built in 1250 and consecrated in 1357, but...it was built too close to the cliff!

Every year the sea kept collapsing the cliff, such that by 1910 no more services were held.

18 years later, the choir area of the church collapsed into the sea below.

Upon entering the church, the foyer tells you everything

you want to know about the church's history...

...after which you enter the chapel...

[photo credit:  Astrid]

...through this door!

And then the nave is right there in front of you.

To the left is the back of the church; to the right (at the doorway) is what's left of the choir.

In other words, the entrance door is on the left, the added door to the balcony on the right

was added after the collapse, and everything in between is the cozy chapel...

...with all the incredible frescoes...

...and the pulpit!

Is it from 1605 (bottom-left)?  I assume so.

Sadly, there was no organ to be found anywhere that I could see.

But in the side sacristy, the damaged altarpiece from 1599 is preserved

from after the choir's collapse in 1928.

[photo credit:  Astrid]

After the collapse, the church was stabilized at the cliff's edge against further damage,

with a balcony added for visitors to view the cliffs and Baltic Sea.

The balcony also is the romantic place of choice for weddings, with "witnesses" standing by.

The church also holds baptisms and funerals, as well as occasional music concerts.

I would be remiss not to include the cottage standing nearby the church,

which is now a souvenir shop.  

And the NEW church, on the same property site,

which was consecrated in 1913, after the old church collapsed.

Both churches, I believe, are Lutheran by denomination.

Also, in this Facebook "synopsis" collage, you can see the steps down to the waterfront, with

better views of the cliffs (which, I might add, only Astrid took, while I pampered my "fake" knee).

[photo credit:  Astrid]

Everything we read said the best view of these cliffs was from the Højerup Old Church,

so, lucky for us, we got two for the price of one.

Of all the churches we saw in Denmark, this may be my favorite.

Sometimes "small" is better?!

The Church of St. Mary in Sæby, Denmark

 

Following the overview of our 3-week drive through Denmark, and true to my promise, here's one of the churches we visited inside.

It once formed part of the Carmelite monastery from the 15th century

and is the reason why we chose Sæby as our city of choice for our farthest-north

destination in Denmark, 54 km south of Skagen on Jutland island.

Even without seeing the inside, we were sold on visiting it!

It was named St. Mary's Church ca. 1450 and was granted permission

by Pope Pius II in 1462 to become a Carmelite monastery.

After opening the door of the church lobby, this is the long view of the nave,

straight to the altar at the end.

OMG.  Where do you even start!

Well, since you see a room off to the bottom-right, let's start there.

It's the Chapter House, usually off to the side, where meetings are held.

It was clearly impressive but not where we spent the bulk of our time.

What I typically do in such a church is walk straight to the altar and then look back.

This particular altarpiece is late-Gothic, dating around 1520.

When I turned and looked back, I saw exactly how narrow the nave is.

So, do you see what I see?  The pulpit (left) and the organ (back), of course!

We had already passed the pulpit at the beginning of the nave

(near the entrance to the Chapter House on the right).

It and its canopy were carved around 1577, during the early Renaissance.

Every time I see a pulpit like this, I wonder what my preacher dad would think,

and would he feel comfortable preaching from it?

Notice how he could look to his left and see his wife at the organ,

at the opposite end from the altar!

[photo credit:  Astrid]

My mom, the preacher's wife, played both the piano and the organ,

and also directed the choir.  How would she feel about doing that here?

They both were also artists...and Protestants (Baptists)!

To be honest, I think they'd get an awesome kick out of visiting this church.

It's like the sermons have floated to the ceiling, becoming eternalized frescoes.

I can picture Dad picking out something funny and pointing to it in a sermon.

He always liked a good joke!  Mom also composed music and would surely be inspired?

But...back to the nave, because I digress.

This is the only fresco I remember not on the ceiling.

[photo credit:  Astrid]

Actually, both Mom and Dad would love and study it!

(See, I can't stop thinking about how they would view all of this.)

At the end of church posts like this, I dump the things that don't fit elsewhere

into my MISC collage.  But I must say that I did not grow up in any church 

with ships hanging from the ceiling.  Did you?

We see them in churches all over Europe, called votive ships.

If your appetite is whetted,

wait till I show you a couple of the Evangelical Lutheran Churches we visited!