Håsum Church

English – Tourist Text: Håsum Church

Håsum Church – History, Color, and Legend

Håsum Church is a Romanesque ashlar church with chancel and nave, a late Gothic tower, and a 19th-century porch. Originally, the church had an apse, which has long since been removed. The bricked-up north portal features rather bulky columns, while the south portal also once had columns—now gone, though fragments have been found in the churchyard.

The interior reflects a major restoration completed in 1995. The space now appears freshly renovated and draws attention with its bold color scheme—especially the striking blue ceiling.

The Romanesque baptismal font is decorated with vertical rope-like carvings and a single lion on the base. The font canopy dates from the Renaissance. The church bell was cast by Niels (Nicolaus) in the 14th century.

The tripartite altarpiece consists of a frame from the early 1600s with three paintings from the mid-1700s depicting Moses, the Last Supper, and Christ. Though not masterpieces, the themes are central to Christian tradition. The 18th-century pulpit also features images of the evangelists.

In the nave, opposite the entrance, hangs a small black plaque with faded text—a memorial to Thomas Ibsen Grønlund, who died at Dybbøl in 1864. On the same wall is a larger epitaph for Melchior Glob of Vellumgård and his ancestors. It was erected in 1636 by Privy Councillor Mogens Høeg of Kjærgårdsholm after the original was destroyed in 1628 by imperial troops during the Danish-Niedersachsen War. The troops cleared Glob’s grave beneath the tower to make room for one of their own officers.

In the churchyard stands the gravestone of parliamentarian Frederik Hartz from Lundholm.

A local legend is tied to the church: "A time will come when the water in Lem Vig rises so high that a cow sails through a bell hole in Håsum Church tower. In that same place, a white foal with red legs will be born. As far as the red reaches up its legs, so far will blood be waded through."