- Horne Church
Horne Church ( _da. Horne Kirke) was established in the
Late Middle Ages on the southwest part of the island ofFunen ,Denmark . This church, originally founded as aCatholic place of worship, is situated in thevillage of Horne; in present times the church no longer serves as a Catholic Parish. Horne Church is the only round church on Funen. Originally constructed fromgranite stonework , it was modified in the 1400s with the addition of Gothic extensions on the east and west.The history of Horne Church is inextricably tied to
Hvedholm Manor , located about two kilometres to the south and to the noble family Brahe associated with that estate. Several of the church's content items date from the 17th century and earlier; one of the original possessions is amedieval document known as the "Hornebook", a national treasure of Denmark that is currently held by theNational Museum ,Copenhagen [Harald Rasmussen, "Horne Kirke, kort vejledning for besorgende ved", Horne Kirke (2003) (in Danish)] .Architecture
The original central round church is a ponderous looking medieval structure, attached to which are the rectilinear east and west wings. The alignment of these later extensions was not quite set at 180 degrees ["History of Hvedholm Manor", Lumina Technologies, Aberdeen, July, 2005] , so that the resulting central interior
aisle does not split the congregationpew s evenly, and the traditional women's side is more spacious than the men's [Jasper Hartvig Svard, "Horne Church", Horne, Funen, Denmark (2004)] . The circular roof of the massive central tower is constructed of lead panels, which forms an interesting colour and texture contrast to the orange-red roof tiling of the remainder. The exterior stonework has been covered over by many layers of white paint, giving a look of an almostharl ed coating.There are three interesting and delicately designed
weather vane s atop the church, one at the apex of each of the vaulted circulartower s, but each at a different height. On one of the vanes are the initials P.B.B. (Preben Bille Brahe) to denote the association of theBrahe family of Hvedholm. The churchtower bells are dated to1568 and1613 .The curved lines of the
gable s of the taller western square tower reveal theRenaissance character of that element. These gables attain a height of 32.4 metres, and are the highest element other than the west circular tower. The entryporch displays the Vicars' Plaque, bearing the date1472 .The interior features a
granite font , one of the oldest interior remains from theMiddle Ages construction, matching the exteriorstonework . Thepulpit , of the French Empire influence, is situated within the central round original church because of the elongated congregation seating. Perhaps the most interesting interior feature is situated at the upper level near the pulpit: a special box for the noble Brahe family, called the "Count's Box". This box was constructed at the behest of the earlier mentioned Preben Bille Brahe and is designed almost identically to those boxes of theRoyal Danish Theatre . The nephew of Bille Brahe wasastronomer Tycho Brahe , who was reared by his uncle and would have sat in this box on Sundays as a child. Not only did the Brahe nobility have its privileged seating, but the Braheservant s had their own private upper level box., called the "Tjenerloftet" or "Servants' Loft". The interior has a painted woodcoffer ed ceiling under the organ gallery.Church contents
Beside the original granite
baptism alfont now situated within the entrance porch is an intentionally uncomfortable seatingbench called the "kællingbænken", or "hags' bench". The present baptismal font is believed to be the work ofBertel Thorvaldsen ; however, the font was loaned out in the early 1900s, and no one is able to tell whether the Thorvaldsen font was returned or a similar one fromSvanninge . Other yet older treasures of the church are theciborium from1639 and the chalice from1676 . Thebronze candlestick s dating to1640 are another special holding.Area setting
Horne Church is situated in a
countryside of gently rolling hills, most of which is utilized forgrain cultivation andcattle grazing . It sits atop aknoll at the north side of the village of Horne, and it is quite visible from many aspects for up to five kilometres from certain vantage points.Hvedholm Manor , a building historically related through the Brahe family, is located about three kilometres to the east. TheBøjden Nor is abird sanctuary about five kilometres distant where over 50 avafauna species in a flatmeadow can be observed from a hide. Behind thealtar is hung theoil painting "Jesus and the Little Children" byChristoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg .References
ee also
*
Egeskov Castle
*Renaissance architecture
*Tycho Brahe External links
* [http://www.jorgenklausen.com/travel/denmark/horne_church_fyn.htm Photo of Horne Church]
* [http://www.hornepraesten.dk "The Homepage"]
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