Dalum Church
Description
Dalum Church is the parish church of Dalum Parish in Odense Municipality and is situated in the river valley near the western bank of the Odense River. The church originated as part of a medieval Benedictine nunnery and was probably intended from the outset to form the northern wing of a four-winged convent complex, built to replace the older nunnery at Nonnebakken in Odense. The relocation to Dalum had certainly been completed by 1249, but likely began earlier in the 13th century. A document from January 1193 already records that the convent received its monastic rules and sacred vessels from the Benedictine monks of St Canute’s Abbey, from where the prior was also appointed. The convent was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a dedication mentioned in written sources from 1464.
By the early 16th century, the convent effectively functioned as a royal fief, although formal ownership did not pass to the Crown until the Reformation in 1536. The nuns were nevertheless allowed to remain, and as late as 1571 four nuns still lived at the convent, two of whom were daughters of the Lord Chancellor Johan Friis, who held Dalum as a life estate. At this late stage, the institution may have resembled a noblewomen’s residence more than a traditional nunnery. After the death of the last nun in 1580, the convent buildings rapidly fell into disuse and decay.
Dalum Abbey remained a royal fief until 1662, when it was sold to the mint master Jens Lassen. It returned briefly to the Crown in 1680, before being sold again in 1682 to the chamberlain Didrik Schult, who renamed the estate Christiansdal. The church remained attached to this manor until 1891. In 1912 it was sold to Dalum Municipality, and following the municipal reform of 1970 it became an independent parish church.
The present church building is a Late Romanesque brick structure that was expanded several times during the Middle Ages. The chancel, transepts, and the eastern part of the nave were completed around 1250, while the western gable dates from about 1275. In the late medieval period, a tower was added and the vaults were renewed. After the Reformation, the loss of the convent’s economic foundation led to structural decline, and parts of the church were altered or removed. The southern transept was demolished in 1647 but was rebuilt between 1926 and 1929 under the direction of architect Knud Lehn Petersen.
Dalum Church contains important medieval wall paintings, furnishings, and numerous memorials, reflecting its long history as both a convent church and later a parish church closely associated with the surrounding estate and local nobility.
Address
Dalumvej 112b, Odense, Denmark
Established
c. 1200