Vor Frue Kirke is also known colloquially as the white church and is part of Skive’s unusual constellation of churches, where two churches are located side by side.
The history of Vor Frue Kirke
Our Lady’s Church was built around the year 1200. This makes it the oldest existing building in Skive City. However, Vor Frue Kirke is not Skive’s oldest church. The oldest church was Sankt Peders Church, which was located together with a cemetery on the corner of Vestergade and Posthustorvet by Slotsgade. Sankt Peders church was demolished around 1400 and it is believed that the stones from this church were used to expand Vor Frue Kirke.
In the 1880s, Skive City had grown large and Vor Frue Kirke was gradually too small for the city’s growing population. The options of expanding the existing church or demolishing it were discussed. It was decided to demolish Vor Frue Kirke and build a new, larger church on the site, but before demolition work began, the exceptionally well-preserved frescoes (from 1522) were discovered on the vaults of the church. The church was then preserved and it was decided to build a new larger church next to the existing church, this church was named Skive Church, but is commonly referred to as the Red Church.
The architecture of the church
Our Lady’s Church is high up and overlooks the entire city of Skive and the river valley. The church has a Romanesque chancel and nave. Around 1400, a west extension was added to the nave, a tower to the west, a transept to the south and a porch to the north. The curved gables of the porch were made by Skive master builder Nicolaus Heinrich Rieman around 1750. The church is whitewashed and the roofs are covered with lead. Above the tower is a gold-plated wind vane that glitters in sunny weather and can be seen from afar.
Sources
Eskildsen, Jens and Mortensen, Niels (1998). 43 exciting buildings in Skive Bykerne. Skive Museums Forlag.
#Skive Church #Church of Our Lady #The white church