Vejlby 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 ...

: Vejlby Kirke) is a church located in

Vejlby Vejlby is a north-eastern neighbourhood of Aarhus in Denmark. It is located 5km from the city centre and is administratively part of the district of Risskov. The neighbourhood of Vejlby was administratively merged with Risskov at the end of the ...

Parish in Aarhus,

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 ...

. The church is situated north of Aarhus city centre, west of

Risskov Risskov is the name of both a neighbourhood and a district in the city of Aarhus, Denmark. The district of Risskov is sometimes referred to as Vejlby-Risskov, as it is a merger of the neighbourhood of Risskov and the neighbourhood of Vejlby. The ...

and the

Bay of Aarhus The Bay of Aarhus, or Aarhus Bay, is a Danish waterway by Aarhus in eastern Jutland. The Bay of Aarhus is bounded by Kalø Vig in the north, Sletterhage and Helgenæs in the east, Samsø and Tunø to the south and the east Jutland coast to the w ...

, on the morainal hills of the

Egå Egå is a both a suburban district and a stream in the Municipality of Aarhus in Denmark. Name Egå means 'Oak-stream' in English. The Egå stream The Egå stream runs north of the city of Aarhus, in the bottom of the flat valley of Egå ...

valley, with a view of

Kalø Vig Kalø Vig (English: ''Kalø Cove'') is a cove in the north end of the Bay of Aarhus, Denmark. It stretches in a semicircle from Skæring in the North West to Kalø Castle below Rønde in the North to the peninsula Skødshoved in the East. The ar ...

and

Helgenæs Helgenæs is a peninsula, approximately twenty square kilometres in size, stretching out from Mols in Denmark. Mols is itself part of the large peninsula of Djursland, in the middle of the Kattegat sea between Denmark and Sweden. West of ...

. It is a parish church belonging to the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

. The parish has a population of 7,148 (2015).

History

Vejlby Church in

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...

belonged to the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

administration under

Aarhus Cathedral Aarhus Cathedral ( da, Århus Domkirke) is a cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the longest and tallest church in the country, at in length and in height. The construction of Aarhus Cathedral began in the 12th century and it is the main edific ...

. 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 ...

, the church was confiscated by the state and on 29 April 1720 it was given to a merchant from Aarhus. The merchant died in 1741 but the church stayed in the family until 1770 when it was sold to the

Aarhus County Aarhus County or Århus County ( da, Århus Amt) is a former county of Denmark ( Danish: ''amt'') on the Jutland peninsula. It was created in 1970 by a merger of three counties: Århus, Randers and Skanderborg. The county was abolished effectiv ...

administrator. It was transferred many times in the following years until Anders Rasmussen in Brendstrup and Christian Faurschou bought it in 1784. In 1810 the parish

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

was sold to the landowners within the parish. The church became an independent institution within the Church of Denmark in 1911. Vejlby Church originally did not have its own priest. The

administration in Aarhus Cathedral appointed officials to serve as priests up to 1680 when the last canon died. The church was subsequently annexed to the chaplain in the cathedral where it stayed until the early 19th century. In 1803 it was decided that Vejlby parish should become a separate

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

upon the next vacancy which occurred in 1811 and the parish has since had its own priest. The church cemetery is associated to a myth similar to the Bible story of Jephthah. Allegedly the builder of the cemetery promised to bury the first living being he met after construction had been completed; it happened to be his son.

Architecture

The nave and choir are in romanesque architecture, Romanesque style constructed of boulders with ashlar around the corners, windows and doors. In the late medieval period the church was renovated. A gothic architecture, Gothic tower and porch, and vaults in the nave, were added. According to an inscription it was Bishop Niels Clausen (bishop 1490-1520) who in 1492 was responsible for the renovation. The church is decorated with kalkmalerier, frescos from the same period. Image:Vejlby Kirkes indre.jpg, The nave Image:Vejlby Kirke prædikestol.jpg, The renaissance pulpit from 1639 Image:Kalkmaleri.jpg, Mural depicting Erasmus of Formia Image:Vejlby Kirke orgel.jpg, Organ from the 1960s Image:Vejlby Kirke nordportal.jpg, Walled off northern door

References

External links

Vejlby Church WebsiteChurch of Denmark's page for Vejlby Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vejlby Church Lutheran churches in Aarhus Church frescos in Denmark 12th-century churches in Denmark Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism Churches in the Diocese of Aarhus

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links