Østerlars Round Church, Bornholm

Bornholm · Dänemark · Church

The Day of Judgement was whitewashed over at the Reformation and lay hidden for 350 years — and legend has the Templars hiding a treasure beneath the cold round room.

Østerlars is the largest of Bornholm's four round churches, a whitewashed cylinder built both to pray and to defend in — and around it grows one of Denmark's most stubborn legends. It holds that the Knights Templar were behind the churches' siting and construction, that the four round churches together with Christiansø form a sacred geometry of hexagons, and that a treasure lies hidden on the site. The proof is still missing, but the treasure hunters have not given up. Inside, medieval lime paintings run across the walls with the birth and life of Christ — and the Day of Judgement. At the Reformation in the sixteenth century everything was painted over, and the faces lay hidden for 350 years before being uncovered again in 1889. What remains is the cold round room, the central pillar carrying the whole roof, and the rediscovered faces staring out towards the last day.

FAQ

Wo befindet sich Østerlars Round Church, Bornholm?

Østerlars Round Church, Bornholm liegt in Bornholm, Dänemark.