St. Canute's Church ( da, Sankt Knuds Kirke) is a
Romanesque church located 3 km northeast of
Rønne on the Danish island of
Bornholm
Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...
.
History
The church is named after King
Canute IV (1042–1086) who was canonized in 1101.
"Knud den Helliges gavebrev 1085"
, Danmarkshistorien.dk, Aarhus University. Retrieved 23 September 2012 The church was probably built between 1150 and 1200.
["Om kirken"](_blank)
, ''Sct. Knuds Kirke''. Retrieved 23 September 2012. The west tower and the southern porch were extended in 1878. The nave walls were heightened, probably first in 1631 and then in 1906 in connection with the renewal of the roof. St Canute's is the smallest of the Romanesque churches on Bornholm.[Otto Norn, C. G. Schultz, Erik Skov, "S. Knuds Kirke"](_blank)
: Bornholms Nørre Herred, Danmarks Kirker, Bornholm, Nationalmuseet, Gad, 1954, pp. 181–198.
01knudsKirkeH1a.jpg , from the south
Bornholm - Knudsker - Sankt Knuds Kirke1.jpg, from the south east
01knudsKirkeH2a.jpg, from the south east
Knudsker church (Bornholm).jpg, tower
20090817 Knudsker Kirke, Bornholm 43.jpg, from the north
Architecture
Built in the Romanesque style, the church consists of a nave, chancel, apse and a tower. There were originally two entrances, one for women on the north side (now bricked up) and the one to the south which still exists. Various construction materials were used, mainly fieldstone
Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...
, while the doors and windows were bordered with limestone. Originally the apse probably had only one window, the remains of which can be seen on the outer wall. The once small windows in the chancel have now been replaced by large modern windows. The impressive cornices were probably used to support a stone roof for the chancel. The original height of the upright nave appears to have been some 4.60 meters but it has now been heightened to 5.80 meters.
Furnishings
The Romanesque granite font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design.
In mod ...
has been sculpted from two stones. The Renaissance altarpiece from 1596 contains pictures of Isaac's sacrifice and Christ's crucifixion. The original decoration from 1762 was restored in 1978. The pulpit, also from 1762, is decorated with the Four Evangelists surrounded by five caryatids depicting human-like figures made up of fruit and grapes. The Frobenius organ was installed in 1955.
See also
* List of churches on Bornholm
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canute's Church Bornholm
Churches in Bornholm
Romanesque architecture in Denmark
Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism