{{Infobox church |name = Vester Egede Church |image = Nordenskirker Vesteged(01).jpg |caption = Vester Egede Church |pushpin_map = Denmark Zealand |pushpin_label_position = none |pushpin_map_alt = |pushpin_mapsize = |map_caption = Vester Egede Church in [[Zealand (Denmark)|Zealand]] |coordinates = {{coord|55|15|57|N|11|57|46|E|display=inline,title}} |dedication = [[Evangelical Lutheran]] |denomination = [[Church of Denmark]] |churchmanship = |website = }}
'''Vester Egede Church''' ({{langx|da|Vester Egede Kirke}}) is a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[parish church]] in the [[Diocese of Roskilde]], [[Faxe Municipality]] in [[Region Sjælland]] on the island of [[Zealand (Denmark)|Zealand]]. It is located some {{convert|10| km|abbr=on}} due west of [[Faxe]]. Today's building dates from 1876 although there is evidence of an earlier church on the site, probably built during the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque period]].<ref name="Vester Egede kirke">[http://www.nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Vester_Egede_kirke/Vester_Egede_kirke.htm "Vester Egede kirke"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131092003/http://nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Vester_Egede_kirke/Vester_Egede_kirke.htm |date=2011-01-31 }}, ''Nordens Kirker''. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 19 April 2013.</ref>
==History and architecture== The earliest documented reference to the church is from around 1370 in the [[Bishop of Roskilde]]'s Taxation Book.<ref name="Vester Egede kirke"/> A letter from 1672 bestowed ownership of the church on [[Hans Schack]]. A royal resolution of 1689 further granted ownership to Schack's descendants as long as the nearby estate of [[Gisselfeld]] remained in their possession. The church came into independent ownership in 1914.<ref name=nationalmuseet>[http://www.mørkeberg.dk/Slaegt/Landsbyen%20Vester%20Egede/Vester%20Egede%20Kirke.htm "Vester Egede Kirke"]{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, quoted from ''Danmarks Kirker'', Nationalmuseet, 1933–1935. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 19 April 2013.</ref>
[[File:Nordenskirker Vesteged(05).jpg|thumb|left|The interior]] The original nave with a porch and tower was completely rebuilt by the architect [[Theodor Zeltner]] in 1876.<ref name="TrapFalbe-Hansen1898">{{cite book|last1=Trap|first1=Jens Peter|last2=Falbe-Hansen|first2=Vigand|last3=Westergaard|first3=Harald|title=Kongeriget Danmark: bd. Frederiksborg, Kjøbenhavns, Holbaek, Sorø og Praestø amter. 1898|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HTTAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=24 April 2013|year=1898|publisher=G. E. C. Gad|page=890}}</ref> The most obvious evidence of earlier Romanesque origin is the font. A tower at the western end of the church was built during the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic period]] as evidenced by its foundations.<ref name="Vester Egede kirke"/> During reconstruction, the nave was extended {{convert|12| ft}} to the east and its height was also increased. The building now stands with undecorated walls and a tiled roof. Inside, both the old and new masonry has been plastered.<ref name=nationalmuseet/>
==Interior== The [[cross vault]] dates from the reconstruction in 1876. The [[pulpit]] is from 1863. The [[altarpiece]] from 1859 contains a plaster cast of [[Bertel Thorvaldsen]]'s ''[[Christus (statue)|Christ]]''. On the north wall of the tower room hangs a [[Consecration crosses|consecration cross]] from the [[Middle Ages]]. The granite font is probably from the Romanesque period. It displays a relief of "Luxuria", a woman standing on her head, nurturing a winged dragon and a lion.<ref name=nationalmuseet/>
==Churchuard== Notable burials in the churchyard include the writer [[Herluf Krabbe]] (1904{{ndash}}1976).
==See also== *[[Faxe Municipality]] *[[List of churches in Faxe Municipality]] {{clear all}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://archive.today/20130701050210/http://www.tryggevaeldeprovsti.dk/index.php?id=1741 Vester Egede parish website] {{in lang|da}}
{{commons category|Vester Egede Kirke}}
[[Category:Churches in Faxe Municipality]] [[Category:Churches in the Diocese of Roskilde]] [[Category:Churches completed in 1876]] [[Category:1876 establishments in Denmark]]