Brarup Church

Brarup Church is an annex to Kippinge Church as it has been since before the Reformation. There is little information about ownership in the Middle Ages apart from the fact that the Crown had calling rights for the appointment of clergy. In 1585, the church owned factories and land strips on three farms. After the Reformation, the church was owned by the Crown until it was auctioned into private ownership in 1767 but by 1793 had been reacquired by the State. In 1868, it was bought by the citizens of the parish.

The apse, chancel and nave are built of brick in the Late Romanesque style on a double sloping plinth with pilaster strips at the corners and saw-toothed cornices at the top. The apse is divided into three sections with narrow pilaster strips. The bevelled window to the east has been opened up and the two others reconstructed in 1911 when the church was restored. On the south wall, a small, sharply pointed and slightly projecting priest's door can be seen. The south door is still in use but has been significantly transformed. The north door has been bricked up. The tower and porch were added in the Gothic period.

The apse has retained its half-domed vault. The cross vaults in the chancel and the nave's flat ceiling are original. Salt decay is noted on a vault's medieval bricks. The altarpiece, a carved triptych from c. 1450 similar to the one in Vålse Church, depicts the Crucifixion in the centre flanked by the Apostles. The paintings on the back of the lateral panels are of the Virgin Mary, John the Evangelist, St Catherine and John the Baptist. The crucifix on the west wall, 268 cm in height, dates from the beginning of the 14th century. The pulpit (1635) is the work of Jørgen Ringnis, carved in the Auricular style. Similar to that in Nørre Alslev Church, it contains carved figures of Moses, Christ the Savior and John the Baptist. The figures of the four Evangelists, originally in the panels of the pulpit, are now in the apse. Originally in the chancel arch, it was moved to the southeast corner of the church, probably in 1852.

The church has frescos from three periods, those in the apse are from c. 1275, the chancel arch decorations are from c. 1300, attributed to the Kippinge workshop, and those on the walls of the chancel and nave are from 1500–1520, attributed to the Brarup workshop. The dome of the apse contains an interesting representation of the Coronation of the Virgin from c. 1275, the oldest in Denmark, probably influenced by munks of the mendicant orders of the period.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Frihedsmindevej 2A, Nørre Alslev, Denmark

Details

Founded: c. 1200
Category: Religious sites in Denmark
Historical period: The First Kingdom (Denmark)