Højby Church is located in the village of Højby

Højby

Højby is a Danish town, seat of the Odsherred Municipality, in the Region Sjælland. Its population on 1 January 2011 was 1,462.-Geography:Højby is located in the north-central side of the Zealand island.-External links:...

 in Odsherred

Odsherred

Odsherred is a peninsula in the north-western part of the island Zealand in Denmark. Odsherred is stretching from the Sjællands Odde in the north-west to the now drained fjord Lammefjord in the south, covering an area with a wide range of the most typical Danish landscapes such as long sandy...

, northwestern Sealand, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. Dating back to the beginning of the 12th century, it is constructed in granite. Several modifications have taken place since the original construction including a porch in the 13th century, Gothic cross-vaulting in the nave and chancel in the 14th century, a tower around the year 1400 as well as a vestry, a chapel and a new entrance porch towards the end of the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

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Wall paintings

The church is recognised for its fine wall paintings or kalkmalerier which are considered to be among the best in the country from the late Gothic period. They were probably created at the beginning of the 15th century, shortly after the cross vaults were added. They were discovered in 1901 and have been restored on several occasions. During the last restoration in 2007, the painting of Erasmus' martyrdom was revealed for the first time.

The paintings in the chancel tell the story of the Day of Judgment with images of Christ, a basoon-playing archangel and St Michael. The lost souls are shown going to hell with the devil standing in its flames.

There is also a painting of St George and the dragon including the Syrian princess he saved from the dragon.