Nødebo 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 ...

: ''Nødebo Kirke'') is located in Nødebo in the northern part of the

island of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

. It is situated on the south-western shore of

Lake Esrum A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

, 5 km north of

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Danish town with a population of 35,357 (1 January 2022)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 ...

. The church is known for its church frescos and its early 16th century altarpiece.

History

Originally a

pilgrimage church A pilgrimage church (german: Wallfahrtskirche) is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims. Pilgrimage churches are often located by the grave ...

, it was built in the 13th century in the

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

at the site of a holy spring dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Around 1400, the church was furnished with vaults and extended to the west. The dimensions of the walls indicate that a tower may also have been planned for but it was never built. Instead, a

flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire *Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing) The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée. Background ...

was added in 1739 as a replacement of a free-standing bell tower. Nødebo Parish was annexed to Esbønderup Parish until 1907. In 1903 it was given its own chaplain and in 1907 was established as an independent parish which also included Gadevang Church which had been consecrated in 1904 in the neighbourting community of Gadevang.

Church frescos

Nødebo Church is famous for its church frescos, the oldest of which, found on the triumphal wall, date back to late-Romanesque times. The vaults of the two bays of the nave and the choir are covered in paintings from 1425 while the tower bay is decorated with paintings by the so-called Union Master. The frescos present various scenes from the

Biblia pauperum The (Latin for "Paupers' Bible") was a tradition of picture Bibles beginning probably with Ansgar, and a common printed block-book in the later Middle Ages to visualize the typological correspondences between the Old and New Testaments. Unlike ...

, including

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

working surrounded by 14 children, the presentation of Christ in front of Pilate and other scenes from the Pilate, and

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

coronation. File:Nødebo-Kirke (20).jpg File:Nødebo-Kirke (22).jpg File:Nødebo-Kirke (24d).jpg File:Nødebo-Kirke (20c).jpg

Furnishings

The pulpit is from 1668 and executed in the

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

by Esben Børresen from Slangerup. According to an inscription on its base, it was a donation from the honest and wise man Paul Steenbech, Mayor of Slangerup". Its present is an addition from 1748. The altarpiece was painted in the beginning of the 16th century in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and has previously been located in a church in Elsinore. It is a

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

depicting the Calvary scene with the crucified Christ surrounded by ary,

ohn Ohn is a Burmese name, used by people from Myanmar. Notable people with the name include: * Daw Ohn (1913–2003), Burmese professor in Pali * Ohn Gyaw (born 1932), Burmese Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1998 * Ohn Kyaing (born 1944), Bur ...

and Mary Magdalene.

Adriaen Isenbrandt Adriaen Isenbrandt or Adriaen Ysenbrandt (between 1480 and 1490 – July 1551) was a painter in Bruges, in the final years of Early Netherlandish painting, and the first of the Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting of the Northern Renaissance. ...

and

Jacob van Utrecht Jacob Claesz van Utrecht, also named by his signature Jacobus Traiectensis (c. 1479 – after 1525) was a Flemish early Renaissance painter who worked in Antwerp and Lübeck. Life Few details are known of Jacob van Utrecht's life. Researc ...

have been suggested as the possible artists. The font is from Romanesque times. It is carved in a single

Trapezoid A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium (). A trapezoid is necessarily a convex quadrilateral in Eu ...

piece of granite which was probably originally the capital of a column. File:Nødebo-Kirke (09).jpg, Altar File:Nødebo-Kirke (11).jpg, Baptismal font File:Nødebo-Kirke (17).jpg, Organ at the rear of the nave

Cemetery

Notable burials at the church include: *William Sophus Dahl (1842–1910), merchant * V. Falbe-Hansen (1841–1932), politician and economist * Aage Fredenslund (1941–1995), professor * Anna Lundqvist (1888–1976), painter * Carl Lundqvist (1883–1949), architect * Axel Østrup (1989–1967), artist and architect

Gallery

Kreuzigungsaltar Nødebo-Kirke.jpg, Altarpiece Nødebo-Kirke_(10).jpg, Pulpit Nødebo-Kirke_(17).jpg, Organ Nordenskirker 61Noedebo69.jpg, Baptismal

References