Nølev church / Nølev kirke, Hads herred, Århus amt.

photo stig bachmann nielsen naturplan.dk

Nølev church has a Romanesque choir and nave, a late Gothic, very changed porch to the south, a sacristy at the east side of the choir from the late 1800s and a tower to the west from 1952. The Romanesque building in raw granite has no visible plinth and no characteristic details, except the straight edged south door, which is in use, while the north door is only traceable - and a bricked-up round arched window, which is an inside niche in the east wall of the choir, and a similar window, which is vaguely visible in the north wall of the choir. The round choir arch is unusually broad, but it is possibly the original. Both nave and choir have beamed ceilings. The porch is built in monk bricks, it is possibly late medieval in its base, but the gable is re-newed in the 1800s. The gable-tip of the nave to the west is re-walled in 1808 -  it has iron  initials C. F. H. R. (Chr. Fr. von Holstein Rathlou), seen from the middle storey of the tower. In the late 1800s a small sacristy in bricks was built at the east side of the choir.  The tower with gables north-south is built in 1952, possibly upon foundations of an earlier tower.

photo stig bachmann nielsen, naturplan.dk

When Nølev church was restored in 1984, frescoes were found from various periods, only five late medieval inauguration crosses in the choir have been kept. The altarpiece is an unsual exampe of a socalled "katekismus-tavle". It consists of joined panelpieces with painted scriptures - here they are replaced by paintings from the 1700s. This altarpiece is the only of this type in Jutland. It was taken down in 1911 and put on the loft, in 1953 it was placed upon the northwall of the nave and in 1984 - after the restoration - it was again used as an altarpiece; in the nave hangs the old altar painting from 1902, which was used as an altarpiece in the intermediate years.

from the granite font

late medieval inauguration cross

Altar chalice from ab. 1700. Late Gothic candelabres from ab. 1520 upon lion figures. A strange Romanesque granite font, almost barrel-shaped, with primitive reliefs, biblical and indefinable animals, made by the same stone mason as the choir arch tympanum in Randlev church. A new bowl. (The font is deep and have been used without bowl). The pulpit is a fine Renaissance work, probably by Peder Jensen Kolding, from ab. 1635 with contemporary paintings and sounding board. In the middle storey of the tower is a bier from 1745 and a model of the church's bellframe, which disappeared when the tower was built.

There are no listed prehistorics in the parish, but there was a dolmen just north of Nølev village, a stone grave a little to the east and 3 hills.  

Source: Trap Danmark, Århus amt, 1963
Source altarpiece in the church: the website of Saksild and Nølev church.

photo 11 February 2012: grethe bachmann and stig bachmann nielsen, naturplan.dk