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Church of Our Lady

Church of Our Lady

Vilhelm Tvede

Photo: Hubertus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Kalundborg, Denmark
Client / Owner
—
Year
Completed 1230
Access
Public
Typology
Spiritual

The Church of Our Lady stands on a hill above the harbor in Kalundborg, on northwestern Zealand. It was founded in 1170, and its red brick suggests construction no earlier than that. The architecture points to the first three decades of the thirteenth century. The source calls it Denmark's most important medieval architectural contribution.

It has a Greek cross plan with four equal arms and five towers. The central square tower, called Mary's tower, is 44 meters tall, and four octagonal towers are 34 meters each. Its features suggest Lombard builders from northern Italy.

The central tower collapsed in 1827 because of structural flaws and poor repairs. Vilhelm Tvede led the restoration from 1867 to 1871 and rebuilt the tower. In December 2008 the municipality urged a UNESCO World Heritage nomination.

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