Faxe Church ( da, Faxe Kirke) is a Danish church located in the Diocese of Roskilde, in

Faxe Faxe or Fakse is a town on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It is located in Faxe Municipality in Region Zealand. The town is most known for the Faxe Brewery, Royal Unibrew, a relatively large brewery producing a range of beer and soft dr ...

, Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand. It was built at the end of the 15th century on a site where there had originally been a Romanesque church. A number of

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

s, probably painted by artists from the Brarup workshop, have been uncovered on the cross vaults, most recently above the organ.

History

The red-brick church was probably built in or shortly after 1492 when King Hans transferred the site into the ownership of Copenhagen University. The masonry, however, contains traces of an earlier Romanesque limestone structure, probably dating from Valdemar Atterdag's reign.

Architecture

Today's

late Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art which began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by t ...

building, in length, has a brick nave with limestone trimmings. On the south wall, the pointed arch of a now bricked-up door can be seen, probably once the priest's entrance. The tower was built at the same time as the nave or shortly afterwards. Its east gable has nine narrow blank windows of varying heights and three Gothic windows which have been bricked in. Decorations in the form of limestone belts reach the level of the roof on the eastern side but have been less systematically completed elsewhere, perhaps indicating rushed construction work. In the 17th century, the northern aisle was added in order to accommodate the growing number of parishioners."Fakse kirke"
, ''Norderns Kirker''. Retrieved 22 April 2013."Fakse Kirke"
''Historisk Atlas''. Retrieved 22 April 2013.

Interior

The nave is covered with five cross vaults supported by wall pillars. The tower room has a cross-vaulted area which probably served as a

baptistry In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

until it became a porch for the west entrance in 1638. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

consists of a 1717 painting by Hendrick Krock,

Frederik IV Frederick IV (Danish: ''Frederik''; 11 October 1671 – 12 October 1730) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of Christian V of Denmark-Norway and his wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel. Early life ...

's court painter."Faxe Sogn"
, Tryggevælde Provosti. Retrieved 22 April 2013. The

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, access ...

is probably from Abel Schrøder's workshop (1614–1615). The altar is flanked by the figures of Mary and John, which together with the chancel arch cross in the north aisle, probably hung between the chancel and the nave. The northern aisle contains two sculpted limestone which probably stem from the earlier church. The lions and snakes which decorate them could well have been sculpted by an artist from Jutland as they are not typical of the region. The Romanesque granite font decorated with four palms comes from Bondo Friso's workshop (1200–1250). File:Nordenskirker Fakse14.jpg, Pulpit (1615) File:Nordenskirker Fakse07.jpg, Interior File:Nordenskirker Fakse08.jpg, Altarpiece (1717)

Frescos

The frescos in the tower room were discovered by Magnus Petersen in 1862 and restored by Jacob Kornerup in 1877 and H. Borre in 1950. The vault displays scenes from the legend of John the Baptist. His capture can be seen in the north segment while the east segment shows Herod at a table with

Herodias Herodias ( el, Ἡρῳδιάς, ''Hērǭdiás''; ''c.'' 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with John the Baptist's execution. Family relat ...

and

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

, a servant bearing John's head and placing it before Salome. The south segment depicts John's decapitation with Herod arranging his execution on the eastern side. On the north wall of the tower room there is a fresco of George and the Dragon, on the far western side the king and queen are shown on the town wall, the princess being shown at the top. The eastern image displays the martyrdom of Simon the Apostle. In 2007, frescos from the beginning of the 16th century were also discovered in the vault above the organ and are now being restored. Painted by the Brarup workshop, they show the Descent from the Cross, the Pietà, the Entombment and the Ascension. Investigations have also revealed that the whole church was decorated by the Brarup workshop. File:Nordenskirker Fakse24.jpg, John baptising Jesus File:Nordenskirker Fakse26.jpg, John the Baptist's capture File:Nordenskirker Fakse29.jpg, Serving John the Baptist's head File:Nordenskirker Fakse(52).jpg, Fresco above the organ

Churchyard

Notable burials in the surrounding churchyard include: * Malthe Engelsted (1852-1930), painter *

Kjeld Gustav Knuth-Winterfeldt Kjeld is a person name derived from the Old Norse and may refer to: Given name *Saint Kjeld (fl. 1100–1150), Danish clergyman *Kjeld Abell (1901–1961), Danish playwright and theatrical designer *Kjeld Ammentorp (1895–1975), Danish-British b ...

(1908-1992), duokimat and lord chamberlain *

Conrad Nielsen Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

(1866-1914), businessman * Nicoline Nielsen (1874-1951), businesswoman

References

External links

Faxe parish website
{{Authority control Churches in Faxe Municipality 15th-century churches in Denmark Churches in the Diocese of Roskilde Churches completed in 1492 Gothic architecture in Denmark Church frescos in Denmark Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism