Religious sites in Denmark

Church of Our Lady

The Abbey of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kloster) was an early Benedictine nunnery in Aalborg. The former monastic church survived as a parish church, the Vor Frue Kirke ('Church of Our Lady'), until 1876, when it was demolished, and the present church of the name built on the site. With the loss of the abbey"s archives around the time of the Reformation the exact date of foundation of the Abbey of Our Lady is unk ...

Founded: 1876 | Location: Aalborg, Denmark

Frederiksberg Church

Frederiksberg Church, completed in 1734, it is built to an unusual octagonal design in Baroque style. Frederiksberg was founded when King Christian III transferred 20 Dutch families from Amager to the area, which became known as Ny Hollænderbyen ('New Dutch Town'), or Ny Amager ('New Dutch Town). The residents of this community constructed a small wooden church in 1653. It was burned down by Swedish t ...

Founded: 1734 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

St. Nicolai Church

St. Nicolai Church dates to the 13th century. Originally built in late Romanesque style and dedicated to the patron saint of merchants and seafarers, the church is the oldest building in the community. Renovations in the 15th century developed the church into a Gothic hall with two transepts and a tower 27.2 m high. On display in a glass-covered sarcophagus in the northern transept are the remains of the Haraldskær Woma ...

Founded: 13th century | Location: Vejle, Denmark

Jelling Church

The current Jelling church was built of limestone around the year 1100. Archaeologists have found traces of three earlier wooden churches on the site. The first wooden church built on the site of the present edifice was the largest of its kind anywhere in Scandinavia. Archaeological evidence suggests that it was built in the later 10th century, during the period around 960 when Harald Bluetooth introduced Christianity int ...

Founded: c. 1100 | Location: Jelling, Denmark

St. Nicholas' Church

The church of St. Nicholas was originally built after the establishment of Køge town, but there are only few remains of this church. The nave and tower of the current church were constructed between 1250-1300. It was enlarged and the tower raised higher during next centuries.

Founded: 1250-1300 | Location: Køge, Denmark

St. Catherine's Priory

St. Catherine"s Priory was an important early Dominican friary. The buildings still stand, although there is no monastic community there; known as Ribe Kloster, it is Denmark"s most complete extant monastic building complex. The Dominican priory in Ribe, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Siena, was founded in 1228 by Dominican friars on property given to them by Tuve, Bishop of Ribe, only the second such foundati ...

Founded: 1228 | Location: Ribe, Denmark

Viborg Cathedral

Viborg Cathedral is the site of one of Denmark's most important historic churches located in the town of Viborg. The modern building is a 19th century construction based on Lund Cathedral in southern Sweden which bears no resemblance to the medieval cathedral that stood on the site since 1130. Viborg Cathedral has been the seat of a bishop since 1065. While nothing is known of the first church in Viborg, it can be suppos ...

Founded: 1876 | Location: Viborg, Denmark

Christiansø Church

Christiansø church was first consecrated in 1685 when the island's fortifications were completed. Serving the garrison, it was initially located in a small floor room in the fortification tower where it was used until 1821. It was then moved some two hundred metres to the east to its present location on an irregular quadrangular plot surrounded by fieldstone walls. The small rectangular granite building was rebuilt and ...

Founded: 1852 | Location: Christiansø, Denmark

Skagen Old Church Ruins

Skagen Old church, also called as 'Sand-Covered Church' was built in the 14th century and dedicated to Saint Lawrence of Rome. It was a brick church of considerable size and located 2 km south-west of the town centre. The white church tower is all that is visible of the former church, the rest of it demolished and the neighboring village having been buried under the sand from nearby dunes. The church was named for the pa ...

Founded: 14th century | Location: Skagen, Denmark

Stege Church

Stege Church was built in the Romanesque style in the early 13th century. It was enlarged to the current size and Gothic style between 1460-1525. The church contains frescos from the 14th and 15th centuries and font from 1625. The altar dates from 1721.

Founded: 13th century | Location: Stege, Denmark

Tønder Church

Tønder Church construction began in 1591 and completed in 1592. The oldest part is the tower which was already a part of the earlier church. The church has a rich inventory like beautifully carved 16th century pulpit. The walls bear the epitaphs of the town’s rich citizens through the ages.

Founded: 1591-1592 | Location: Tønder, Denmark

Østerlars Round Church

Østerlars Church is the largest and, possibly, the oldest of the Bornholm island's four round churches. Built in about 1160, it was dedicated to St. Lawrence. It consists of an apse, an oval chancel, a large round nave and has three storeys. There is evidence the church was once fortified, the top storey serving as an open shooting gallery. The fieldstone wall stands on foundations of Bornholm limestone. The double ...

Founded: ca. 1160 | Location: Gudhjem, Denmark

St. Bendt's Church

St. Bendt"s Church was originally part of a Benedictine monastery that burnt down in the 18th century. Built in the Romanesque style, it is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia, dating back to about 1170 when it replaced a travertine church from about 1080. It is considered to be one of Denmark"s architecturally finest churches. Furthermore, it is of special historical interest as it is first Royal church in D ...

Founded: 1170 | Location: Ringsted, Denmark

Svaneke Church

Svaneke Church stands above the harbour at a height of 18 metres on the site of a small chapel which appears to have existed for quite some time before the town received its charter in the 16th century. The church was expanded over the years, the tower and spire being completed in 1789. In 1881, virtually the whole building was rebuilt by architect Mathias Bidstrup of Rønne, leaving only the tower and a small secti ...

Founded: 16th century | Location: Rønne, Denmark

Skagen Church

The Skagen area suffered from severe problems with sand drift up through the 18th century and in 1795 the old church had to be abandoned. It was a brick church of considerable size dedicated to Saint Lawrence which dated from the beginning of the 15th century and located 2 km south-west of the town centre. A new church was built in 1841 to the design of Christian Frederik Hansen. The design was adapted in 1909-10 by Ulri ...

Founded: 1841 | Location: Skagen, Denmark

Maribo Cathedral

Maribo Abbey, established in 1416, was the first Bridgettine monastery in Denmark and became one of the most important Danish abbeys of the late Middle Ages. The monastery is in ruins, but the abbey church still remains in use as Maribo Cathedral. Originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Bridget of Vadstena, the church was built in the early 15th century. It was Queen Margrethe I who provided land for a monaster ...

Founded: 1416 | Location: Maribo, Denmark

Dominican Priory Church

The Dominican Priory (Sortebrødrekloster) was an important Dominican monastery in Viborg during the Middle Ages. Viborg Priory was established around 1227 by Bishop Gunnar of Viborg. It is first mentioned in the church annals in 1246 when donations to the priory are listed. The priory church was completed towards the end of the 13th century in red brick in the Gothic style and consisted of a choir, sacristy, and ce ...

Founded: 1227 | Location: Viborg, Denmark

Sorø Abbey

Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was founded by Asser Rig, the son of Skjalm Hvide, Zealand"s most powerful noble in 1142. Asser established a Benedictine House just a few years prior to his death in 1151. He then lived as a monk for the last years of his life. It was common practice for wealthy and powerful individuals and families to fou ...

Founded: 1142 | Location: Sorø, Denmark

Eskilstrup Church

Eskilstrup Church built in the Romanesque style dates from the 12th century. It is best known for its frescos, said to be Denmark's oldest. At the beginning of the 16th century, the church was owned by the bishopric under the administration of its seat at Sørup on Lolland. In 1694, it was annexed to Ønslev Church, 3 km to the west. After the Reformation it came under the Crown until 1767 when it was sold int ...

Founded: 12th century | Location: Eskilstrup, Denmark

Løgum Abbey Church

Løgum Abbey was founded in 1173 by Bishop Stefan of Ribe who had previously been at Herrevad Abbey in Skåne, the first Cistercian foundation in Denmark. Løgum was in a sense a daughter house to Herrevad. The abbey was called 'Locus Dei' in Latin, meaning 'God"s place' and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The new wooden monastery was destroyed by a fire in 1190. Bishop Omer of Rib ...

Founded: 1173 | Location: Løgumkloster, Denmark