Sinding church / Sinding kirke, Hids herred, Viborg amt

Sinding Church, ab. 10 km northwest of Silkeborg
Sinding sogn, Hids herred, Viborg amt.

The church is situated in the middle of Sinding village; it has a Romanesque choir and nave, a late Gothic tower to the west and a porch to the south. Choir and nave are in granite ashlars, and from original details are preserved the choir arch with kragbånd, the east and north window of the choir, which are bricked-up and both portals of the nave. The southern is straight-edged and with a monolit cover stone, while the north portal (now bricked -up) is decorated with free pillars with irregular cubic capitals and a thympanum with three engraved crosses. One of these crosses is T-shaped, which is unusual in Romanesque art, and it is in this case probably due to that the thympanum of the portal was too large when delivered from the workshop; the upper section of the cross thus disappeared in the carving. At the east side of the portal is a figure in high relief, a crowned Christ with outstretched arms upon a cross-shaped ashlar, below Christ are to small men with keys, probably churchwardens.




In the choir was in the end of the Middle Ages built an octagonal rib-vault upon brick-pillars. The white-washed tower has broad point-arched glamhuller (sound-openings for the bell) is built in monk bricks above re-used granite-ashlars from the west gable of the nave, inside especially in raw field-stones. A free stairway to the north to a door in the middle storey. The tower room with an original cross-vault opens to the nave in a broad, round-arched arcade. The small white-washed porch is in monk bricks above granite ashlars.

The communion table with carved panel from 1936. The altar piece in rural renæssance from the beginning of the 1600s; in the large field is a plaster-copy of Thorvaldsen's Christ. Late Gothic altar candelabres with foot-lions. A Romanesque granite font with arcades upon the basin. A baptismal bowl south German from ab. 1550 , given in 1682 by Key Powisk. Pulpit in renæssance 1589 and the names hr. Michel, Peder Andersen and Las Sneicker; newer sounding-board. Pews from the end of 1800s. Upon the wall of the nave is a copy of Joakim Skovgård's painting of "Det store Gæstebud" in Viborg Domkirke's southern cross arm. Bell from 1850. A medieval thurible from the church was in 1905 deposited at Århus Museum. At the National Museum is a trefoil-shaped salvegemme (ointment-jar) from the Middle Ages, found when digging the church yard.

Names in the Middle Ages: Sinding ( *1215-24 Sinning)

At Småbjerge was a sacred well.

The name "Biskov" is connected to Skovgård's house site where was found rests of foundations. According to Jyske folkeminder VI 76 it was named Bispetorp. (might have been a bishop's farm once).

There are no listed prehistorics in the parish, but there were 9 hills in the eastern and southeastern section.

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962.


photo Sinding kirke April 2008: grethe bachmann