{{Infobox settlement , name = Karise , native_name = , other_name = , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = Karise Church.jpg , image_caption = Karise Church , image_flag = , image_shield = , motto = , nickname = , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name =

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, subdivision_type1 = , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Region , subdivision_name2 = Zealand (''Sjælland'') , subdivision_type3 = , subdivision_name3 = , subdivision_type4 = Municipality , subdivision_name4 =

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 ...

, image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Denmark#Denmark Region Zealand , pushpin_relief = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in Denmark , coordinates = {{coord, 55, 18, 25, N, 12, 11, 52, E, display=inline,title , coordinates_footnotes = , established_title = , established_date = , area_footnotes = , area_urban_km2 = 1.3 , area_total_sq_mi = , area_land_sq_mi = , area_water_sq_mi = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = , elevation_ft = , population_as_of = 2022 , population_footnotes = , population_urban = 2392 , population_density_urban_km2 = auto , population_density_sq_mi= , population_demonym = , timezone1 =

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

, utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST =

CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...

, utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 4653 , area_code_type = , area_code = , geocode = , iso_code = , website = , footnotes = Karise is the main town of Karise Parish in

Faxe Municipality Faxe municipality is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Denmark in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand. The municipality covers an area of 406 km² and has a population of 35,418 (2008). Its mayor as of January 2018 is Ole Vive. ...

Region Sjælland Region Zealand ( da, Region Sjælland) is the southernmost administrative region of Denmark, established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regi ...

("Zealand Region") in the southeast of

. Karise town has a population of 2,392 (1 January 2022) (Karise Parish: 2,880 (2021))SOGN10: Population by Parish from Statistics Denmark
/ref> Karise is mentioned in 1261, when Peder Olufsen, a local

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

, in his will donated 12 marks to the consecration of Karise Church. Until the municipal reform of 1972, Karise was part of its own Karise Municipality.

Karise Church

The church is built as a fortified church which served as a place of refuge during wendish incursions in the 13th century. At that time the stream on the east side of the church was a navigable fjord, rendering the surrounding villages an easy target for the wendish pirates. The architecture of the church displays both romanesque and

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style features. The windows in the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

are romanesque round arches while the windows in 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 gothic pointed arches. The double function of the church as both of a fortress and a church can be seen in the unusual design of having two church towers. One of the towers has later been lowered to give the church a more classic Danish church look. The larger tower also still have archer holes. The yellow and grey memorial chapel on the southern side of the church was built in 1766-1769 by Count A. G. Moltke and designed by

C. F. Harsdorff Caspar Frederik (Friedrich) Harsdorff, also known as C.F. Harsdorff, (26 May 1735 – 24 May 1799) was a Danish neoclassical architect considered to have been the leading Danish architect in the late 18th century. Early life and training ...

. The neo-classical style of the chapel contrasts the medieval brickwork of the church.

The Town

The original village was situated northwest of the church. A large part of the village was consumed in a great fire in 1804 and never rebuilt since the village was undergoing

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

. Modern day Karise is centered on the railway station which was built in 1879. The railway connects Karise with neighbouring towns

and

Hårlev Hårlev is a railway town with a population of 2,865 (1 January 2022) ...

as well as

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Karise in fiction

According to the legend of Mrs. Marthe, her estate Karisegård was destroyed by wendish pirates. Mrs. Marthe fled to a small chamber above the apse of Karise Church and remained there until her property was reconstructed. Poet and novelist B. S. Ingemann mentions the fictive person ''Karl of Riise'' in his historic novel ''Valdemar the Victorius'' (Danish: ''Valdemar Seier''). ''Karl of Riise'' was a

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...

of archbishop

Anders Sunesen Anders Sunesen (also ''Andreas'', ''Suneson'', ''Sunesøn'', Latin: ''Andreas Sunonis'') (c. 1167 – 1228) was a Danish archbishop of Lund, Scania, from 21 March 1201, at the death of Absalon, to his own death in 1228. He is the author ...

during the

Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christian colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around th ...

against the

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to oth ...

. In the Battle of Lindanise in 1219, ''Karl af Rise'' is mentioned as being the person who caught the Danish flag,

Dannebrog Dannebrog (until the mid-20th century often spelled Danebrog) may refer to: Flags and orders * The national Flag of Denmark * Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen, links=no), a Royal Danish decoration Places * Dannebrog Island, an i ...

, when it fell from the sky. Karise is mentioned in a few folk songs. Most famous are "Lille fregnede Louise (fra Karise)" and "Slikkehans". Karise is also mentioned in the comedy song "Syd for Køge" by Monrad & Rislund. The title of the Danish national play

Elves' Hill ''Elves' Hill'' ( da, Elverhøj) is a comedy by Johan Ludvig Heiberg, with overture and incidental music by Friedrich Kuhlau (Op. 100), which is considered the first Danish national play. History ''Elves' Hill'' was commissioned by Frederik V ...

(Danish: ''Elverhøj'') refers to a small mound situated 2.5 kilometers northeast of Karise.

Notable people

* Louise Ringsing (born 1996 in Karise) a footballer who plays for Brøndby IF and for the Denmark women's national under-23 team

Karise Church

The Town

Karise in fiction

Notable people

References

Further reading