Nødebo Church

Armory and ridge turret

Pulpit (1668)

Crucifixion altar (around 1520)

Romanesque baptismal font, altarpiece Jesus and the Samaritan woman

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Nødebo ( Danish Nødebo Kirke ) is the oldest church in the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand ( Danish Sjælland ). It belongs to the parish of Nødebo Sogn on the south-west coast of Esromsee , 5 km north of Hillerød and 40 km north of Copenhagen and is best known for its frescoes from the 15th century and the altarpiece from the 16th century.

Church building

The church was built by Esrom monks as a pilgrimage church. The oldest parts, nave and choir , can be traced back to around 1200. Around 1400 the building was vaulted and extended to the west. The dimensions of the walls suggest that they were planned as the basis for a tower. During this time the building was used as a baptistery. Around 1520 the south side received an armory . A similar extension on the north side was demolished in 1652 and the north entrance for women was probably walled up at the same time. A roof turret on the western extension replaced the free-standing wooden bell tower in 1739. The apse in the east was built in yellow brick in 1840 , the rest of the structure consists of split and partially hewn boulders. Limestone was used on the windows and doors.

The church has been renovated several times. In 1868-69 the roof was changed and in 1905 new benches and heating were installed and the side walls plastered. During the restoration of 1981–83, the organ and gallery moved back to their original location. The gallery from 1739 was extended to its original length of six fields.

inventory

At the Magdalenen spring, the holy spring to which pilgrimages were undertaken in earlier times and which was the origin for the foundation of the church, there was an offering box as it can be found in the church. A censer on the choir wall dates from the early Catholic period .

One chandelier from 1727 bears an inscription, the second is a copy from 1910. The wrought-iron altar screen is also from 1727 and is decorated with a monogram of Frederick IV .

triptych

The three-part late medieval crucifixion altar ( triptych ) shows in the middle part the Golgata scene with Christ on the cross and the weeping Mary kneeling on the cross next to John and Mary Magdalene dressed in red . In the background a medieval city, apparently Jerusalem with the round temple, to which a crowd of people is moving.

On the side wings a secular couple, probably a wealthy donor couple from Helsingør . Behind the kneeling man the Apostle Bartholomew with a knife, behind the woman probably the Apostle Matthias with a halberd. Since the landscape on the side wings has the same character as the central image and no other design can be seen on X-rays, it is assumed that it was created at the same time. The pair's clumsy heads suggest that they were added later when the altarpiece belonged to a church in Helsingør. From there it came to Nødebo in 1746 when a woman from Helsingør gave it to the church in gratitude because the holy spring supposedly cured her illness.

Adriaen Isenbrant or Jacob van Utrecht is assumed to be the painter for the altarpiece, which probably came from the Netherlands around 1520 . The dating is mainly based on the details of Magdalena's clothing and the donors. The headdress and Magdalena's puff sleeves are known from drawings, paintings and altarpieces from this period.

In 1982 the triptych was moved from a side wall in the nave to the altar table. With the altarpiece Jesus and the Samaritan woman painted by Jørgen Roed in Rome in 1839 and the trapezoid Romanesque baptismal font made from a piece of granite, a baptistery was set up again in the tower room.

pulpit

The baroque pulpit from 1668 is the work of Esben Børresen from Slangerup. According to an inscription, it was donated by the mayor of Slangerup Paul Steenbech and his wife Anna Cathrina Werdenborg, who married in 1666. The pulpit hood was not added until 1748.

Frescoes

Christ Blesses an Earthly King (Uncovered 1982)

the fall of man (1425)

Adoration of the Magi (Undløse Master, 15th century)

The preserved frescoes in the late Romanesque style, which were uncovered during the restoration in the choir in 1982, are among the best in North Zealand in terms of size and quality. The paintings in the choir and nave date from 1425, carried out by an artist known for the long noses of his characters. The frescoes in the tower from the mid-15th century are from the Undløse Master, named after his work in the 90 km distant Undløse Church in Holbæk . After his work in Sweden he is also called Master of Fogdö or Union Master .

The paintings show in the choir: