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!
Oh Boots! This post. The church is INCREDIBLE. Such art and design and beauty, and all done so long ago. Just breathtaking. It's fun to ponder the questions about Mom and Dad, too. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos of this remarkable church. Just WOW!
ReplyDeleteOh, bless you, Ruth. I was hoping it didn't sound too corny to be thinking so much about Mom and Dad and what they'd be thinking. To be honest, I think of them in every church I enter, as though they were with me, looking, staring, pondering, wondering, asking questions, etc., etc.
DeleteThat was quite the treasure inside, Ginnie. Who would expect that. I think it might have been too overwhelming for your parents, but then, maybe they got a lot of inspiration from all the beauty around them. I would have loved to hear the organ here. Short of eyes to see all the decorations. Thanks for sharing the pictures. IHVJ
ReplyDeleteI love that we're Partners in Crime at such "treasures," Astrid, because you always know exactly what I'm talking about. And thank you for YOUR images that always give me new ways of seeing things. I learn from you.
DeleteI love the details you show us! I feel like I am walking beside you in that special place.
ReplyDeleteBless you, Marie, and thank you. I just wish everyone could see these incredible places all over the world, just waiting to be discovered!
DeleteSo wonderfully sunny and bright, the colors soft, lovely! Thank you for another tour of a place I will never get to.
ReplyDelete“OMG Where do you even start?” Well, this reader was stopped by the monster head at the bottom of the pulpit. Any more views? Your story of your father reminded me of a class trip to NYC I led in which one of my students, a bit of a zealot who saw himself one day as a preacher, climbed the Pulpit in the Cathedral of St. John in NYC, largest in the country, or is that Washington DC? And those organ pipes! Another stopping point: Hunting horns? Horns for a royal fanfare? Did you get to hear the organ play? Beautiful photographs, as always.
As photographers, Ted, we have the great fortune of bringing the world to each other's doorstep, which, when you think about it, makes the camera one of the most incredible inventions ever made. Seriously. It blows the mind when you think of it like that.
DeleteI love the stories you can tell because of your students over the years of teaching. You could write a book, I'm sure!
No one was in the church that day (until the end, as I recall), so sadly, no, no organ sounds that day, though it would have be lovely to hear.
An added twist to my story of Phil the zealot. He had a brother Bill, a year older, who was quite balanced. As to photography, yes, it makes the world smaller.
DeleteHAHA, about the older brother. Sometimes I wonder if that's part of the point of having brothers and sisters, to help bring balance to the family. :)
Delete