Brabrand Church (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: Brabrand Kirke) is a church located in Brabrand Parish in Aarhus,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The church is situated in the neighbourhood Brabrand by

Brabrand Lake Brabrand Lake ( da, Brabrand-søen or Brabrand Sø) is a lake in the district of Brabrand (Gellerup), west of Aarhus city, Denmark. The Aarhus River passes through Brabrand Lake and it is possible to canoe all the way to the inner city from he ...

, west of Midtbyen. The church was originally devoted to St. Martin but is today a parish church in the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

, serving a parish population of 6.962 (2015). The Brabrand Church

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

is shared with the South Aarslev Church to the west. The resistance fighter Alf Tolboe Jensen, executed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, is interred in the church cemetery.

History

The church was originally situated in the village of Brabrand which has over time developed into a neighbourhood of Aarhus. Population in the parish has increased a lot which has left a substantial mark on the church as it has been altered and enlarged a number of times. It is difficult to determine which are the original part and which are later additions. The cross-hatched area in the ground-plan shows, the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and the east part of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

are all that is preserved of the first stone-built church on the site. The oldest sections of the building may well date back to the latter half of the 12th century.

Architecture

The oldest sections are built of rough and split granite boulders. Few original windows are still to be found in the chancel and there are moulded imposts in the chancel arch. The relatively solid brick masonry at the west end of the earlier part of the church seems to indicate that a tower, which has since disappeared, was added to the nave in the Late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. A porch, of which a few remains may have been included in the present extension for the altar dates from the same period. Formerly a wooden spire rose above the west end of the church but was replaced in 1880 by the present tower in its Neo- Romanesque style. In 1924—25 the church was thoroughly rebuilt and to the north side of the nave was added a large extension two bays long with a porch. This change involved a 90° turn in the orientation of the church, since the altar was set up in an annex on the south side of the original nave. A further extension was undertaken 1969–70. Brabrand Kirke - 6

In the southern wall of the church is a well-preserved romanesque gravestone with an engraved

processional cross A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions. Such crosses have a long history: the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them "like a standard", according ...

in the centre. The Latin text surrounding the cross is "''HAC CLAVSVS : PETRA CVM : XRO : REGNET IN : ETHRA''" roughly translated to "May he, who is interred under this stone, rule with Christ in Heaven".

Interior

The walls in the chancel show traces of murals, but it was on the north wall that a fairly large fragment, since covered once more with whitewash, was found with a figured scene within a banded frame. This has been interpreted by some as

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

tearing down the gate of the city of Gaza, by others as Moses coming down the mountain with the Tablets of the Law. The furniture was restored and added to when a considerable rebuilding programme took place in 1924–25. In particular the altarpiece which was decorated by Per Glarmester (Lit. Per Glazier) in 1595. A former altarpiece painting was produced by the animal painter

Christian David Gebauer Christian David Gebauer (15 October 1777 – 15 September 1831) was a Danish animal and landscape painter. He was also known for etchings. Biography Gebauer was born in Neusalz an der Oder. His father was superintendent of the Moravian Chu ...

. The chalice was donated 1551 by Bishop

Ove Bille Ove or OVE may refer to *Ove (given name) *Ové, a surname *Ove Peak in Antarctica *''A Man Called Ove (novel)'', a novel by Fredrik Backman *'' A Man Called Ove'', a 2015 Swedish film based on the novel *Danish Organisation for Renewable Energy (O ...

(1520—36), as indicated by a tablet inscribed in Latin. A cross embroidered in gold and silver is preserved from the back of a

chasuble The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern ...

, now disappeared, dating back to c. 1725. The pewter dish of the granite Romanesque baptismal font was made 1686 by Hans Nielsen Gotlænder, who worked in Århus, and donated to the church by the patron, Constantin von Marselis, and his wife Sofia Elisabeth Carisius. The pulpit from c. 1650 is from the same workshop as the pulpits in Åby and Trige. The bell was cast 1744 by Lorenz Strahlborn of Lübeck. Winter Landscape with Brabrand Church.jpg, Painting by

c. 1831, Brabrand Church and

. Brabrand Kirke - 2.JPG, Entrance to the church Brabrand Kirke - 4.JPG, Church seen from cemetery

References

External links

Website of Brabrand-Sønder Aarslev PastorateChurch of Denmark's page for Brabrand Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brabrand Church Lutheran churches in Aarhus Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism Churches in the Diocese of Aarhus

History

Architecture

Interior

See also

References

External links