+ Maarup church / Maarup kirke, Vennebjerg herred, Hjørring amt.

Mårup Church, ab. 10 km west of Hjørring
Mårup sogn, Vennebjerg herred, Hjørring amt.



Maarup Church stopped being a parish church when Lønstrup church was built in 1928. It was then kept in repair as a listed memorial by Skov og Naturstyrelsen, but the North sea was stronger than expected and the church came too close to the cliff. It was impossible to save it.

On 27 november 2007 the owner of the church, Skov og Naturstyrelsen decided to take down the church in stages. The demolishing work started 25 august 2008 and in the summer 2008 the church had been taken down till 2 m's height.

The latest news is that Maarup church is older than first assumed. The archaeologists from the National Museum has dated the church to the year 1200. (start of building)

The church was from the beginning placed in a desolate place a few hundred meters from the cliff to the North Sea. Since 1926 it was out of use, but as mentioned kept in repair. ( by the National Museum). It had a Romanesque choir and nave with a possibly late Gothic porch. It was built in bricks mixed with few ashlars and large amounts of håndstore havsten ( the size of a hand-stones from the sea). At the western gable were the foundations from a probably Gothic tower which however was removed. Some inventory from Mårup was moved to Lønstrup church in 1928, inventory left was the altar piece which was the middle group of a late Gothic altar piece, probably from ab. 1520 and similar to the St. Catharina figure in Hjørring.The pulpit was a simple joinery from the middle of the 1600s. This inventory has been moved to Lønstrup church?

The anchor by the western gable was from the shipwreck of The Crescent from 1808. The grassgrown church yard is surrounded by stone dikes and with rests of the characteristic wooden fences around the graves. The drowned sailors from The Crescents are buried here.


The ravine in Lønstrup


Lønstrup at the beach , boats and seaside hotel


Early morning in idyllic Lønstrup


These holiday cottages disappeared into the sea a short time after this picture was taken.

Names in the Middle Ages:
Mårup ( 1374 Mathorp); Lønstrup (* 1355 Lønnstrup, * 14218 Lodenstrup, 1457 Lødenstrop); Vester Vidstrup (* 1436 Vester Vidstrup).

In Lønstrup was in the Middle Ages a noble manor. In 1436-92 the owner was Knud Jensen Rotfeldt, (+ earliest 1492) and his son væbner Thomes Knudsen Rotfeldt (+ earliest 1545) is mentioned in 1499-1543 in Lønstrup.

At Lønstrup town a ravine was formed during a flood in 1877 which gave a natural access from the town to the sea.

Source: Trap Danmark, Hjørring amt, 1960.
Mårup kirke history

Maarup Kirke 2009

Lønstrup


photo Mårup & Lønstrup June 2003: grethe bachmann