Engum church / Engum kirke, Hatting Herred, Vejle Kommune.

Engum kirke (foto Nordiske Kirker)

Engum kirke lies 8 km northeast of Vejle


Engum church was built in travertine ab 1150 and proably before. The white washed walls rise directly from the ground.

The church lies in the southern part of the small village with open fields to the south and west and with the vicarage as the nearest neighbour to the east. The church is surrounded by broad, double, granite boulder dikes.
At the main entrance by the main village road is a driving gate + small gate with wrought iron wing-doors, a lesser alike entrance to the west. In 1836 the grass covered church yard was being grazed by geese.

Only few Romanesque details are kept, on the northside are dimly seen the bricked- up round-arched windows and inside is kept the Romanesque choir arch with profiled corbels.

Engum church foto Google earth.

The Gothic vault was built ab. 1400 while the broad west tower and the porch were added in late Gothic period ab. 1500.

The choir's triumph wall and choir arch were decorated with Romanesque frescoes from ab. 1200, especially remarkable are the repainted frescoes on the choir arch.

The church was a manor church for the manor Tirsbæk on the northside of Vejle fjord, and it is strongly marked by the aristocratic church owners. A fine portrait stone in early Renaissance is placed over rigsråd Ove Vincentsen Lunge (+ 1540). He was one of the most important landlords in Denmark and started shortly before his death the building of the present Tirsbæk manor.


 Oldest inventory:
The oldest inventory is the Romanesque font in reddish granite, of a simple type.
The communion table is late medieval in monk bricks, but is covered on three sides with a panel. In the table is a reliquary (found in 1979, contents only a piece of green silk) The reliquary was in the shape of a bærealter (an altar to be carried)


The inventory was new-furnished in 1759-60 into Rococo-style: 

The Rococo inventory is from ab. 1760, the givers were Maren Loss of Tirsbæk  and her second husband, the earlier manager of the estate Jørgen Hvass. He was enobled in 1761 with the pretty name Lindenpalm, which was celebrated by gifts to the parish.

Altarpiece, foto Nordens kirker

The altarpiece is from 1759, made by the Horsens-joiner Jens Jensen the Young. In the big field is a pretty carved crucifix. Jens Jensen is also the master of the other Rococo-piece in the church, the pulpit with a cherub. The pulpit is dated 1765, but behind the flowering Rococo is a simple Renaissance stool. The pulpit is decorated with seven women, symbolizing the cardinal virtues, but they seem  to be not the Christian virtues, considering the seven relaxed challenging graces on the sides of the pulpit.

After a thorough restoration the inventory now stands with the original colours and paintings from 1759-60 (red, blue and much gilding)

Cherub, foto Nordens kirker

Altar rails also from 1759-60 and two cherubs with flaming swords guarding by the choir arch.

Well-preserved pews with 35 interesting  emblem-paintings.

Altar silver from Jørgen N. Brosbøll, Vejle
Wafer box 1778 Matthias Winge, Vejle.

Church ship model: five-masted barque, the school-ship "København",  which disappeared in the South Atlantic 1928-29. 


Church bell: 1765 cast by Michael Carl Treschel, Copenhagen
Church bell 1836 cast by C. Frederik Weiss, Horsens.

Several grave memories ( owners of Tirsbæk )

Source: Danmarks Kirker, Niels Peter stilling, 2000,  Danmarks kirker, National Museet.

Photo: Thanks to Nordens kirker. and Google earth.