Store Magleby Church was originally built some time between 1193 and 1370. King Christian gave it to the Dutch farmers who had settled on Amager. They renovated and expanded the church in 1611. The current appearance of the church dates from 1731 when it underwent major alterations. The longhouse nave is 36 metres long and 16 metres wide and is terminated by a three-sided chancel to the east while a flèche tops the roof to the west.
The stucco decorations, altarpiece, and pews all date from the 1850s. The altarpiece's original painting by Thomas Wagner from 1860 was replaced by a Eucharist painting by Thomas Kluge in 2012. The remains of a catechism altarpiece from 1480 is seen on the north wall.
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.