Elmelunde Church, famous for its frescos, is located in the village of Elmelunde, Møn, in southeastern

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 ...

. It stands high above the surroundings just south of the main road from Stege to the white cliffs of Møn. The impressive whitewashed building can be seen from miles around and has been used as a landmark by sailors in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

History

Elmelunde is the oldest church on the island of Møn, apparently constructed on a site where a wooden church once stood. The flat mound, to the north of the church, is even older. It is believed to be a heathen burial ground from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. The present church dates back to 1085 when parts of the present choir and nave were built 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 ...

. Only the triumphal arch and the sidewalls remain from this period. The earliest additions were carried out around the year 1200 when the church was extended towards the west. Work on the tower began around 1300 but was not completed until 1500. The wooden ceiling was replaced by Gothic crossvaulting in 1462.

Frescos

The church's many well-preserved frescos or kalkmalerier cover the Gothic vaulting of the nave and choir. Like the murals in two of Møn's other churches, Keldby and Fanefjord, they were painted in the

Gothic style 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 ...

by the so-called

Elmelunde Master The Elmelunde Master, Danish ''Elmelundemesteren'', is the designation given to the nameless 16th-century artist who painted the frescos in the churches of Elmelunde, Fanefjord and Keldby on the island of Møn in south-eastern Denmark. The n ...

, probably towards the end of the 15th century. In the so-called

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 ...

style, they present many of the most popular stories from the Old and New Testaments. The paintings were hidden for centuries as, following the

reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, they were covered with layer after layer of limewash. In 1969, the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...

undertook major restoration work on the wall paintings. The vaults were cleaned, earlier restoration work was corrected and new frescos were revealed. The paintings in the nave and choir were discovered in 1885 and initially restored in 1895. During the most recent restoration work, it was found that the church had earlier been decorated with Romanesque frescos, traces of which could be seen on the walls of the nave and on the triumphal arch. However, until now, it has not been possible to restore them. The most comprehensive wallpainting work was in fact carried out by the Elmelunde Master presenting a variety of scenes from the story of the Creation and the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

but also with illustrations of everyday activities such as ploughing and hunting. Between the paintings, margins with frills depicting flowers, plants and other ornaments can be seen. The figures all have sleepy faces, a characteristic of the Elmelund Master. Colours include black, ochre, caput mortuum, and

cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the bri ...

which has now faded to verdigris.

Altar and pulpit

The richly carved altar, 1646, was a gift from

King Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

´s daughter, Leonora Christina, and her husband

Corfitz Ulfeldt Count Corfits Ulfeldt (10 July 1606 – 20 February 1664) was a Danish statesman, and one of the most notorious traitors in Danish history. Early life Ulfeldt was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. He was educated abroad, concluding wi ...

. The central frame depicts the institution of the Holy Communion. The sides present the evangelists

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

.Elmelunde Kirke, Inventar
. In Danish. Retrieved 17 August 2009. The pulpit, also a present from the Ulfeldts, is borne by the

apostle Peter An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

and is from the year 1649. Large representations of the four evangelists fill the larger frames while the corner frames house their symbols.

Graveyard

Notable people who are buried in the graveyard include: * Christian Danneskiold-Samsø, landowner and administrative leader of the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

* Nicoline Margrethe Winther (1891-1971), politician * Henrik Haubroe (1915-2014), businessman

Gallery

Here is a selection of frescos in Elmelunde Church painted by the

. Elmelunde Church - unicorn.jpg, Unicorn Elmelunde kirkeskib.jpg, ElmelundeChurchCeiling.jpg ElmelundeChurchCeiling2.jpg ElmelundeChurchCeiling3.jpg ElmelundeChurchCeiling4.jpg ElmelundeChurchChoir.jpg ElmelundeChurchChoirBack.jpg ElmelundeFresco3.jpg

References