Tillitse Church

{{Short description|Church building in Lolland Municipality, Denmark}} [[File:Tillitse kirke, Lolland 01.jpg|thumb|Tillitse Church, Lolland]]

'''Tillitse Church''' is a [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] building west of the village of [[Dannemare]], some {{convert|8|km|abbr=on}} south of [[Nakskov]] on the Danish island of [[Lolland]]. Built of red brick in the first half of the 13th century, it has an intricately carved [[auricular style|auricular]] [[altarpiece]] created by [[Jørgen Ringnis]] in 1642. An 11th-century runestone stands outside the church entrance.<ref name=dk>{{cite web |title=Tillitse Kirke |website=FolkeKirke.dk |lang=da |url=http://gloslundepastorat.dk/Hist/Tl/Ti_romansk1.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702102406/http://gloslundepastorat.dk/Hist/Tl/Ti_romansk1.aspx |archive-date=2 July 2015 |access-date=11 August 2013}}</ref><ref name=natmus/>

==History== Built in the first half of the 13th century, the church was extended towards the west in the early 17th century. Little is known of its ownership in the Middle Ages but the Crown had clerical appointment rights at the time of the [[Danish Reformation|Reformation]]. In 1648, it was transferred to the ownership of the [[Rudbjerggaard|Rudbjerggård Estate]] where over the years it was governed by F.B. Bülow and Gustav Smith. It came into the ownership of Gustav Smith c. 1850 and was transferred to the [[Højbygaard Sugar Factory|Friderichsen family]] in 1850. In c. 1880, it was taken over by Landmandsbanken which transferred it to the local congregation in 1907.<ref name=natmus>{{cite journal |first1=Kirsten|last1=Weber-Andersen |first2=Otto|last2=Norn |first3=Aage|last3=Roussell |first4=Gertrud Købke|last4=Knudsen |date=1951 |title=Dannemare Kirke |journal=Danmarks kirker: Maribo amt |volume=8 |publisher=Nationalmuseet |pages=340-352 |lang=da |doi= |url=http://danmarkskirker.natmus.dk/uploads/tx_tcchurchsearch/Maribo_0340-0352.pdf |access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref>

==Architecture== [[File:Nordenskirker Tillitse(14).jpg|thumb|left|Interior]] [[File:Nordenskirker Tillitse(05).jpg|thumb|160px|Apse]] The church consists of a Romanesque [[apse]], [[chancel]] and [[nave]]. It was extended towards the west in 1625 with a porch on the west gable in 1856. An arched [[frieze]] decorates the upper apse, topped by a saw-toothed cornice. Its three finely finished Romanesque windows have now been bricked up. The profile of the chancel's former south door can still be seen. There is a saw-tooth decoration along the top of the chancel with a more recent cornice. The remains of the nave's south portal extend up to the roof. The old Romanesque windows have been replaced by modern pointed-arch windows. There are [[lesene]]s on the east corner but those on the west corner have been removed. There is also an arched decorated topped by a saw-toothed line along the top of the nave.<ref name=natmus/>

==Interior and furnishings== The carved altarpiece from 1642 is the work of [[Jørgen Ringnis]]. It bears the arms of Joachim von Barnewitz, Øllegaard Pentz and Hartwig Passow. The Renaissance [[pulpit]] from 1608 presents the arms of Knud Rud and Ellen Marsvin. The church also contains a sandstone epitaph for Joachim von Barnewitz (died 1626) and [[Øllegaard Hartvigsdatter Pentz]] (1684{{ndash}}1654). There is a Romanesque font.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tillitse kirke |website=Nordens kirker |publisher= |lang=da |url=http://www.nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Tillitse_kirke/Tillitse_kirke.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915005922/https://www.nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Tillitse_kirke/Tillitse_kirke.htm |archive-date=Sep 15, 2011 |access-date=11 August 2013}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=180px> File:Altertavle, Tillitse kirke.jpg|Altarpiece File:Prædikestol, Tillitse kirke.jpg|Pulpit File:Epitafium, Tillitse kirke, Lolland, Denmark.jpg|Epitaph File:Nordenskirker Tillitse(43).jpg|Font </gallery>

==Graveyard== Notable people buried in the graveyard include [[Ludvig Eduard Alexander Reventlow]], who purchased the Rudbjerggård estate in 1891.

==Runestone== [[File:Tillitse1 600px.jpg|thumb|170px|Runestone]] There is a free-standing [[runestone]] listed as '''DR 212''' in the [[Rundata]] catalog that is outside the church porch. It was originally found in the churchyard wall in c. 1627 and was later used as a foundation for the porch. Dated to the mid-11th century, it is {{convert|143| cm|abbr=on}} high and {{convert|81| cm|abbr=on}} wide. The stone contains two inscriptions which read (translated):<ref>{{cite web |title=Tillitse sten |website=Runer.ku.dk |publisher= |lang=da |url=http://runer.ku.dk/VisGenstand.aspx?Titel=Tillitse-sten |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427193656/http://runer.ku.dk/VisGenstand.aspx?Titel=Tillitse-sten |archive-date=2011-04-27 |access-date=11 August 2013}}</ref>

{{quote|Áskell, Súlki's son, had this stone raised in memory of himself. Ever will stand, while the stone lives, this memento, which Áskell produced. May Christ and Saint Michael help his soul. Tóki carvedthe runes in memory of Þóra, his stepmother, a good wife.<ref name="Rundata">{{cite web |title=Runic inscription DR 212 |website=[[Rundata|Scandinavian Runic-text Database]] |edition=2020 |publisher=Department of Scandinavian Languages |location=Uppsala University |url=http://kulturarvsdata.se/uu/srdb/287c389a-ade3-4bde-b3d1-4a1dde6deaec |access-date=Feb 25, 2024}}</ref> }}

==See also== *[[List of churches on Lolland]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Lolland]] [[Category:Churches in Lolland]] [[Category:Romanesque architecture in Denmark]] [[Category:Runestones in Denmark]] [[Category:11th-century inscriptions]] [[Category:Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism]] [[Category:Churches in the Diocese of Lolland–Falster]]