Rønbjerg Church
From the outside, Rønbjerg Church resembles a traditional Danish village church. But as you step inside, you discover a space that is much more than a place for reflection and faith – it has become a cultural meeting point where tradition meets renewal.
Rønbjerg Church was built in the early 1400s to replace an earlier church mentioned in 1340. The nave and chancel are constructed in Late Gothic style using monk bricks without a foundation base. The tower is slightly younger and built in the same style, while the porch dates from a 1933 restoration. The number 1779 on the tower’s west side marks an earlier renovation. Inside the tower hangs a bell from 1583, donated by Admiral Peder Munk of Estvadgård. The church also has two newer bells.
The Romanesque baptismal font may have been transferred from the earlier church and closely resembles the font in Sahl Church. The altarpiece is in Rococo style and features the painting “The Crucified” by Clemen Toft from 1862. The pulpit from 1587 is Baroque, with reliefs of the evangelists and grotesque masks carved into the corners.
In the tower arch is a wrought iron gate from 1781 bearing the initials OML MK – for church owner Otto Marsvin Laurberg and his third wife, Mette Kirketerp. In the nave hang Late Gothic figures in new frames: John, Saint Anne with the Virgin Mary, and a bishop. These figures come from an altarpiece dating to around 1500.
During the 1975 restoration, a nearly ten-meter-long mural frieze was discovered, dated to 1522 – the same year as frescoes in Our Lady’s Church in Skive. The frieze depicts seven scenes from the Passion of Christ: Jesus in Gethsemane, the kiss of Judas, Jesus before Pilate, the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the carrying of the cross, and the crucifixion.
In the churchyard is the grave marked with a tree of life for peat manufacturer Andr. Sørensen, co-founder of Rønbjerg Peat Factories – the largest of many peat factories in the Gl. Rønbjerg/Hvidemose area.