Skagen Old Church Ruins, Skagen, Denmark

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 patron saint of sailors, but was buried by sand from Råbjerg Milen. The desertification that hit the area in the 18th century led to the abandonment of the old parish church to the migrating sands. This area of dunes threatened the church and the village for centuries, and the planting of trees could not prevent further encroachment: the church itself was demolished in 1775. All the furniture, fittings, and interior decoration were sold or moved to a new church (Skagen Church 1841), while the church tower being left to rise above the sand.

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User Reviews

Matthias Hess (13 months ago)
Interesting historical landmark. It's free and you can climb up to the rafters and enjoy the view. Nice walking trails in the surrounding park as well.

PingoKari (15 months ago)
Great for kids, a short stroll in the nature typical for the region.

Lenka Švidrnochová (15 months ago)
Really nice place with a possibility to go inside and enjoy the view.

David Rasmussen (15 months ago)
Fun and interesting little church tower, half buried in sand. There are free parking and it only takes 5 minutes to walk to the church - and the church is seen in about 10 mins, so it’s a fun little short stop if you are in Skagen.

Peter Liliegren (15 months ago)
Interesting to see, cool you could go up the stairs to the top for a fantastic view! Also good parking place with clean toilets a few hundres meters from the church

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Skagen Old Church Ruins

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