Højerup Old Church, Stevns Klint

Sjælland, Stevns · Denmark · Church

Every Christmas night the church moves one cock's stride inland. On a March day in 1928 it was too slow — the chancel fell into the sea.

The chalk church was raised around 1250–1300 at a safe distance from Stevns Klint. The sea had other plans. Legend says the church moves one cock's stride further inland every Christmas night, a poetic image of how slowly and inexorably the water undermined the cliff over centuries. On 16 March 1928 it ran out of time: the chancel and part of the churchyard collapsed into the sea, coffins and all. The folklorist Evald Tang Kristensen recorded another version of the name's origin — a Viking in distress off the cliff promised God a church wherever he came ashore, was thrown in beneath the sheer face, and cried that no church could be built there, whereupon a voice answered him: higher up. Now the severed nave stands on the brink, cut off from its own chancel.

FAQ

Where is Højerup Old Church, Stevns Klint located?

Højerup Old Church, Stevns Klint is in Sjælland, Stevns, Denmark.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Mogens Engelund / CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons