St. Ibs (Bornholm)

St. Ib's Church

The Evangelical Lutheran Sankt Ibs Church ( Danish Sankt Ibs Kirke , Ib is a Danish form of the name of Jakob) is a Romanesque church on the Danish island of Bornholm . It is located 3 km southwest of Svaneke and is named after the apostle James the Elder .

History and architecture

The apse , choir , nave and tower were probably erected in one construction phase in the Romanesque period, mainly from hewn field stones; however, the wall openings and all the finer details are made of Silurian lime . The apse has a hemispherical vault, the choir a barrel vault and the nave a beamed ceiling. The tower has four floors. The three lower rooms are divided lengthways into two barrel-vaulted rooms, each connected by two arcades ; the bottom floor opens up to the ship through two large arcades.

The vestibule is medieval, probably from the late Gothic period. In 1867 a north transept was added.

The bell tower is part of the churchyard wall and was originally the gate to the church grounds. It has four floors, the lower three are medieval and made of stone; the top is the bell storey; it is made of half-timbering and in its current version dates from the 18th century.

Furnishing

The wooden altar is new, the altarpiece was painted by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg in 1846 and shows Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The triumphal cross dates from the 16th century and is probably post-Reformation.

The pulpit is made of wood and was built around 1600. Originally carved figures stood in the four niches; Today there are ceramic reliefs by the couple Lisbet Munch-Petersen and Paul Høm from 1964.

The baptismal font is a late Romanesque Gotland work; the foot is missing or hidden under the floor.

The organ was built in 1854 by J. Gregersen.