St. Bendts Church (Ringsted)
The Evangelical Lutheran St. Bendts Church ( Benedict Church ; Danish Sankt Bendts Kirke ) in Ringsted , Zealand , is historically and architecturally one of the most important church buildings in Denmark . The Romanesque basilica , built around 1170 as the abbey church of the Ringsted Benedictine Abbey , was the burial place of the kings of Denmark from 1182 to 1341 . It is the oldest preserved brick church in Scandinavia .
history
The predecessor building of today's basilica was an early Romanesque travertine church, which was built around 1080 and replaced a wooden church from the time of the Christianization of Denmark . In 1131 Knut Laward was murdered in the context of a controversy for the throne near Ringsted and buried in Ringsted Church. After his son Waldemar had asserted himself as the sole ruler, he achieved the canonization of his father in Rome in 1169 , at whose grave numerous miracles should have occurred. At the same time the construction of the large-scale high Romanesque church began. It was financed primarily with the offerings of the pilgrims , who soon came in large numbers. In the still unfinished church, at the grave of his canonized father, Waldemar had his son Knut crowned his successor by Archbishop Eskil .
The new church formed the north wing of an almost square monastery that was probably built at the same time. In the Gothic period the abbey church was given new vaults .
The Benedictine convent existed until the Reformation in Denmark. In 1571 St. Bendt became a Lutheran parish church .
In 1806 a fire broke out in the monastery complex, which destroyed the convent buildings. The church was mainly damaged on the west facade, which was renovated in the Empire style. At the same time, the outer walls were plastered .
From 1899 to 1910, the Danish architect Hermann Baagøe Storck carried out extensive restoration work that was based on the original forms. The Romanesque apse windows were restored, the brick masonry was exposed again and the crossing tower was given a pyramid roof.
architecture
St. Bendt is a three-aisled basilica on a cross plan. The two-bay choir closes with a round apse. Two rectangular chapels with small round apses are attached to each of the transept arms on the east side. The crossing tower is square. Overall, the architecture is reminiscent of Lombard models, which were probably conveyed through Benedictine relationships.
Furnishing
Above the brick-covered columns and arches there are large wall panels painted with ornaments and figures. Most of the frescoes date from Romanesque and Gothic times and refer to the deeds and battles of kings. Additions were made to the neo-Romanesque restoration.
The Romanesque sandstone baptismal font is dated to 1150. The oak wood choir stalls from 1420 are similar to those in Roskilde Cathedral . The altar and pulpit are works of the 17th century.
Baptismal font
pulpit
altar
Royal tombs
The Ringsted Church is of national importance for Denmark, especially because of the grave of Waldemar I “the Great”. All Danish kings and queens were buried here from 1182 to 1341. Only in Roskilder Cathedral are there more Danish royal tombs.
The most important people buried in St. Bendt are:
- Knut Laward († 1131)
- Waldemar the Great († 1182)
- Knut VI. († 1202)
- Dagmar of Bohemia († 1212)
- Rikissa of Denmark († 1220)
- Berengaria of Portugal († 1221)
- Waldemar II († 1241)
- Eric IV († 1250)
- Agnes of Brandenburg († 1304)
- Eric VI. († 1319)
- Birger of Sweden († 1321)
- Martha (Margrethe) of Denmark († 1341)
- Blanche of Namur († 1363)
literature
- Rikke Agnete Olsen, Niels-Jørgen Hansen, Erik Kjersgaard: Sankt Bendts kirke i Ringsted . National Museum of Denmark, 1972. ISBN 87-480-7371-7
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ St. Bendts Church on visiteastdenmark.com ( Memento of the original from July 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ a b c d e f St. Bendts Church on nordenskirker.dk (Danish)
- ↑ Peter Frederiksen, Knud Ryg Olsen, Olaf Søndberg: Grundbog til Danmarks historien
- ↑ Internet presence of the parish ( Memento of the original from March 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Danish)
Coordinates: 55 ° 26 ′ 43.5 ″ N , 11 ° 47 ′ 13.4 ″ E