Aastrup Church

{{Infobox church | image = Nordenskirker Aastedfalst01.jpg | name = Aastrup Church | native_name = Aastrup Kirke | native_name_lang = Danish | country = [[Denmark]] | location = [[Aastrup, Falster]] | denomination = [[Church of Denmark]] | parish = Aastrup Sogn | deanery = Falster Provsti | diocese = [[Diocese of Lolland–Falster]] | founded = ca. 1200 | style = [[Romanesque architecture]], [[Gothic architecture]] }}

'''Aastrup Church''' ({{langx|da|Aastrup Kirke}}), located on the top of a steep hill in the village of [[Aastrup, Falster|Aastrup]], {{convert|6|km}} southwest of [[Stubbekøbing]] on the [[Denmark|Danish]] island of [[Falster]], dates from c. 1200. Built in the [[Romanesque architecture|Late Romanesque]] style, it has [[fresco]]s from the 13th and 15th centuries.

==History== The church was dedicated to [[Saint Anne|St Anne]] although this was probably not its original patron as Anne was not generally known in Denmark until the late [[Middle Ages]]. The Crown, which enjoyed clerical appointment rights since before the [[Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein|Reformation]], sold the church in 1767 to the parish priest, [[Christian Henrik Biering]]. In 1810, [[Peter Hersleb Classen]], director of [[Det Classenske Fideicommis]], transferred the church's ownership to the local landowners and in 1919 it became autonomous.<ref name=natmus>[http://danmarkskirker.natmus.dk/uploads/tx_tcchurchsearch/Maribo_1345-1358_02.pdf Kirsten Weber-Andersen, Otto Norn, Aage Roussell, Gertrud Købke Knudsen, "Tingsted Kirke"], ''Danmarks kirker: Maribo amt, Volume 8'', 1951, Nationalmuseet, pages 1345–1358. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 14 November 2012.</ref>

==Architecture== The brick [[chancel]] and the [[nave]] both have round arch friezes below the [[cornice]]. The south door, partly bricked up, is still in use but the north door, whose remnants were uncovered in 1984, is completely closed. The nave was extended at the end of the 15th century when [[cross-vault]]ing replaced the flat ceiling. The remains of the priest's door can be seen on the south wall of the chancel. The east gable contains a rounded Romanesque window while traces of the other Romanesque windows can be seen in the masonry. The tower with stepped gables, built in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] period, fills the full width of the nave. The porch dates from the same period.<ref name=nk>[http://www.nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Aastrup_kirke/Aastrup_kirke.htm "Åstrup kirke"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130043207/http://nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Aastrup_kirke/Aastrup_kirke.htm |date=2011-01-30 }}, Nordens kirker. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 25 November 2012.</ref>

On the nave's eastern gable there is a relief of two heads and on the chancel's east gable, there is a head above the window. These have given rise to a legend about three virgins who had been to church in [[Horbelev]] and were murdered when returning home: one in Horbelev, one in Aastrup and the third in [[Grønsund]]. The three murderers were the women's brothers who were taken by robbers when they were small children. According to the legend, the three heads in Aastrup are those of the virgins while those on the tower at Horbelev are those of the robbers.<ref name=nk/>

==Interior== The Neoclassical [[altarpiece]] from 1838 has a painting of Christ at Emmaus by [[Fritz Westphal]]. The pulpit carved in the [[auricular style]] by [[Jørgen Ringnis]] (1645) is similar to those in [[Toreby]] and [[Væggerløse Church|Væggerløse]]. The {{convert|55|cm|abbr=on}} high [[crucifix]] from around 1400 used to hang above the chancel arch but is now above the door to the porch. It depicts a thin figure whose thorn-covered head falls to his right shoulder. The arms are long and thin and the hands unnaturally small and stumpy. The church's limestone font is Late Gothic.<ref name=natmus/>

==Frescos==

Frescos in the chancel and the nave from the late 15th century were rediscovered underneath a whitewash in 1901. They are probably the work of the [[Elmelunde Master]] and his workshop, although they also appear to have been influenced by the nearby Brarup workshop. They depict scenes from the [[Genesis creation narrative|Creation]] and the [[Passion of Jesus|Passion]], including [[Crucifixion of Jesus|Christ bearing his cross]], the [[Judas Iscariot#Death|suicide of Judas]], and the [[Rich man and Lazarus|rich man and the poor man]]. In 1943, an older fresco (c. 1275) depicting a [[Majestas Domini]] was discovered on the wall above the chancel arch.<ref>[http://www.nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Aastrup_kirke/Aastrup_kirke.htm "Aastrup kirke"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130043207/http://nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Aastrup_kirke/Aastrup_kirke.htm |date=2011-01-30 }}, Nordens kirker. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 22 November 2012.</ref>

==Graveyard== Notable burials at the associated graveyard include former principal of Classen's Agricultural School Albert la Cour<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gravsted.dk/person.php?navn=alacour|title=Albert Philip la Cour|language=Danish |website=gravsted.dk |access-date=27 July 2023}}</ref> and agriculturalist [[Adolph Lacoppidan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gravsted.dk/person.php?navn=adolphlacoppidan|title=Hans Johan Georg Adolph Lacoppidan|language=Danish |website=gravsted.dk |access-date=27 July 2023}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery class="center"> File:Nordenskirker Aastedfalst13.jpg|The nave File:Nordenskirker Aastedfalst56.jpg|Fresco: the rich man and the poor man File:Nordenskirker Aastedfalst32.jpg|Fresco: Judas' death by suicide File:Nordenskirker Aastedfalst29.jpg|Fresco: Christ bearing the cross File:Nordenskirker Aastedfalst59.jpg|The font </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Churches in Falster]] [[Category:Church frescos in Denmark]] [[Category:Romanesque church buildings]] [[Category:Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism]] [[Category:Churches in the Diocese of Lolland–Falster]]