St Ib's Church ( da, Sankt Ibs Kirke) is a Romanesque church in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

on the Danish 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 was first mentioned in 1291. The church was once richly decorated with frescos.

History and architecture

Located on a small rise between

Roskilde Fjord Roskilde Fjord is the fjord north of Roskilde, Denmark. It is a long branch of the Isefjord. Cities The cities Frederiksværk, Frederikssund, Jægerspris, Jyllinge and Roskilde (including Himmelev), (home to the famous Roskilde Festival), all h ...

and the old town, the church is built on a site where there was originally a wooden church which was revealed in archaeological digs in the 1980s and 1990s. It is unclear when it was founded but it certainly existed in the 11th century. Between 1100 and 1150, the wooden church was pulled down to be replaced by a Romanesque stone church. It was built of travertine limestone in about 1100 and originally consisted of a

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 ...

and a

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. Ove ...

with flat ceilings, extending over a length of . In the 13th century, six tall slender windows were added as well as a tower and a porch. The flat ceiling was replaced by vaults. St Ib's was a parish church until 1808 when the congregation moved to St Jørgenbjerg Church. During the Napoleonic Wars it was used as an infirmary for Spanish soldiers. It was sold to a merchant in 1815 who demolished everything but the nave which he used as a warehouse. The church was repurchased by the

Diocese of Zealand The Diocese of Zealand (Danish: ''Sjællands Stift'') was a protestant diocese in Denmark that existed from 1537 to 1922. The diocese had been formed in 1537 following the Reformation of Denmark, and was dissolved in 1922 when it was divided into ...

in 1884 and was restored in 1922. Today the church, which is no longer functional, again has a flat wooden ceiling. The medieval part of the building was heritage listed in 1987.

Interior

Kornerup kalkmalerier sankt ibs kirke 1900

In the second half of the 19th century,

Jacob Kornerup Jacob Kornerup (19 November 1825 – 9 March 1913) was a Danish archeologist and painter who is remembered above all for discovering and restoring medieval frescos in Danish churches.Axel Marius Hansen (1877-1960), politician * Max Harvøe (1921-1992), labour union leader *

Sigrid Kähler Sigrid Kähler, also Sigrid Andersen Ring, (12 May 1874 – 9 May 1923) was a Danish ceramist and painter. Through her father, the ceramist Herman A. Kähler, she met the painter L. A. Ring. After their marriage in 1896, she inspired many of his ...

(1874-1823(, ceramist and painter * Anders Ring (1899-1948), silversmith * L.A. Ring (1854-1933), painter

References

Literature

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ib's Church, Roskilde Romanesque architecture in Denmark Churches in Roskilde Municipality Listed buildings and structures in Roskilde Municipality Church frescos in Denmark 12th-century churches in Denmark Churches in the Diocese of Roskilde

History and architecture

Interior

See also

References

Literature