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Founded: 12th centuryCategory: Religious sites in Denmark
Historical period: The First Kingdom (Denmark)
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The western part of the chancel and the eastern part of the nave are the oldest parts of Herslev Church dating from the Romanesque period. The chancel and the nave were extended in the late Middle Ages, when the porch was presumably also built. When the chancel was extended, a vault was erected.
The church was restored in 1881: the porch was rebuilt, the large windows were put in and a wall was put round a belfry at the west end of the church. In 1977 this belfry was removed and today the bell hangs in the bell frame on the preserved burial mound in the western part of the churchyard. The older and cracked bell placed near the entrance to the west end of the church is highly effective.
On the comparatively new altar stands a very fine triptych dating from the early 16th century. On the altarpiece's lower right-hand corner is painted the years 1736 and 1919, both referring to restorations. The piece has been thoroughly restored in 2013. The piece shows the Lord and the crucified Christ accompanied by Mary with the Child and St Michael the dragon-slayer, who again are surrounded by the twelve apostles. The attractive baptismal basin in the Romanesque font is late 16th century, and the decoration in the middle represents the Annunciation.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.