Lyby Church

Lyby Church – Granite, History, and Oaths Beneath the Sky

Lyby Church is a Romanesque church with nave and chancel built of granite ashlar. Rounded stones in the east gable suggest the church originally had a semicircular apse. On the south side of the chancel, two stones feature protruding masks – a glimpse into medieval symbolism.

The tower, built in the late Middle Ages from reused granite and monk bricks, now serves as the church’s entrance.

The south portal, once adorned with columns and a cross-decorated tympanum, is now bricked up. The north portal has been heavily altered.

On a new altar table stands a four-winged altarpiece from the 17th century with a rediscovered painting. A newer altarpiece from around 1860 hangs on the north wall, alongside a portrait of parish priest N.K. Glud (1873–1920).

The granite baptismal font is of high artistic quality, shaped as a quatrefoil and decorated with 16 human figures in high relief. A sister font can be found in Torum Church.

The pulpit, featuring carved reliefs of the four evangelists, likely dates from the same period as the altarpiece and rests on a carved wooden post from around 1300.

In the nave hangs a crucifix from the late 15th century, while the chancel holds a rebuilt confessional. In the tower room stands a damaged bell from 1410.

Two brass candlesticks bear the years 1724 and 1725, along with the name and coat of arms of Johan Parsberg – one may have been exchanged with a candlestick in Grønning Church.

In the Middle Ages, Lyby Church was considered the “Syssel Church” for the Salling district, with a local assembly held at nearby Bostrup Tinghøj. In 1375, a gathering took place in the church, where the region’s leading men discussed the hardships of the time: war, fire, crop failure, disease, and dwindling fish stocks.

There, with hands raised to heaven, they swore to defend the church’s freedoms and rights – a vow that still echoes in the stones.