Nicolaikirche (Bornholm)

The Nicolaikirche in Rønne

Today's Nicolaikirche (Danish Sankt Nicolai Kirke ) in Rønne on the Danish island of Bornholm dates from 1275 and was fundamentally rebuilt in 1918. It is named after St. Nicholas and belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran diocese of Copenhagen .

history

Around 1275, Rønne's first, smaller church was built. It was only a small summer chapel, while the main church of St. Knud was in the parish (Danish Sogn ) Knudsker Sogn . The Salomons Kapel was another summer chapel in Hammerknuden. Hammerknuden or Hammeren is the name given to the northern tip of Bornholm. The Hammershus castle ruins are also located there .

A few meters of the original foundation wall of the Nicolaikirche from 1275 have been preserved in the northwest corner of today's nave .

Around 1350, a large extension was built on the west side of the church, almost doubling the length of the church. Part of today's north wall dates from this time. The baptismal font of the church, a Gothic woman's door and the consecration cross have also been preserved from this period . 63 silver coins from the time of the consecration of the church are immured under the consecration cross. The font was made in limestone on Gotland . In the late Middle Ages the church was expanded with a new pentagonal choir . The large cornerstone of the original choir has been preserved in the north wall of today's choir.

In 1550 a tower was built at the western end of the church, which was rebuilt in 1699.

A plague tablet (around 1600) is now in the Bornholms Museum .

In order to increase the space in the church, galleries were built for the children and the servants. The Pax'sche gallery with pictures of Jesus' suffering has been preserved. Pax was the name of the founder, who was originally called Michel Nielsen. He was born on Rønne and emigrated to Pomerania. There he worked his way up on an estate and after the death of the landlord married his widow, taking the name of the deceased landlord Pax with the estate. He donated the Pax'sche gallery in 1721 . It was originally attached to the north wall opposite the pulpit and reserved for the city's most distinguished citizens. Otherwise the late medieval church remained unchanged until 1797.

In 1797 the current north wing was built and at the same time the orientation of the church was changed: the north wing became the main nave , the altar was placed opposite the north wing on the south wall and the pulpit was built over the altar.

From 1915 to 1918 the church was extensively renovated. The north wall and the north wing were left standing, but the old nave was made two and a half meters wider and correspondingly higher, the church was oriented to the east again and a south wing was built mirroring the north wing, so that the church got a cross-shaped floor plan. In addition, the old tower was replaced by a copy in the correct size ratio. The nave and choir were vaulted, while the vault in the nave rests on granite columns in front of the galleries. The current church building was consecrated on May 26, 1918. Another restoration took place from 1982 to 1983, during which the floor was lined with Paradisbakke granite (Paradisbakke migmatite ).

Interior

During the major reconstruction of the church from 1915 to 1918, a wooden altar with wood carvings by the Bornholm woodcarver Christian Koefoed (1882–1958) was set up. The front of the altar shows the lamb of God with the winner's flag. A line of poetry by NFS Grundtvig - “The tree of life sprouts from the root of the cross” - is implemented in the wood carvings on the pulpit. The end pieces of the pews are crosses carved in different ways. All wood carvings were done by Koefoed.

Votive ships

A model of the frigate "Dannebrog" from 1873 hangs in the nave. A smaller model ship, the "Thetis", named after the sea nymph Thetis from Greek mythology, is a gift from 1969. It is honored in a procession at the annual memorial service of the killed sailors and fishermen.

chandelier

The large chandelier in the church was made in Lübeck in 1620 .

organ

The church received its first organ in 1638 as a gift from the brothers Jeppe and Lars Hansen and was in use until 1806. The next organ was sold to the church in Allinge-Sandvig in 1829 . In 1829 the Danish organ builder Hans Friderich Oppenhagen (1763–1833) built a new organ, which was then used until 1899. In 1899 the company AH Busch & Sons (Copenhagen) built a new organ with 18 voices . 1931 this organ was of Co Theodor Frobenius & . expanded. In 1961 it was replaced by a new organ by Theodor Frobenius. After further renovations in 1990, the organ now has 51 voices , four manuals and a pedal . Since 2010 it has had a new setting system with 7680 possible combinations.

Glass mosaic

The glass mosaics on the chancel windows and on the window in the pulpit from 1954 are by Prof. Kresten Iversen (1886–1955). They represent the parable of the sower .

Around 1550 the church was decorated with a series of pictures of the 12 apostles . However, only the fresco showing Judas Thaddäus has survived . It is located above the font.

Bells

The church has three bells. The smallest is from the year 1300. It was cast in Germany and bears the inscription: "O King of Honor, Christ, come in peace".

The middle bell, the Maria Bell, was probably cast for the St. Marien Church in Greifswald. Its inscription reads “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Sante Claus 1433 ". Merchants from Greifswald had the Mariakapelle built in Greifswald in 1434. This chapel was converted into a grammar school in the 16th century and the bell was donated to St. Nicholas' Church in Rønne.

The largest bell dates from 1483 or 1583 and was cast in 1903.