Avnede Kirke

Avnede Church is very beautifully situated on a headland that juts out into the flat meadows.

Until the 1860s, when Nakskov Fjord was drained, the fjord went all the way up past the cemetery. The location of the church at this place may be due to the fact that on the bank of the river south of the cemetery there was a spring to which a pagan cult was attached. The beginning of Avnede church may have been a spring chapel. The spring became a Christian holy place and was named St. Lauritz spring. Its waters were known to have a mighty power.

Avnede church has belonged to Halsted Monastery. After the Reformation, it belonged to the crown together with the main church, until in 1719 they were jointly transferred to Baron Jens Juel Vind and placed under the barony established by him. On 8 February 1957, the church was transferred to freehold.

The church is probably from the end of the 1300s. The tower is younger than the longhouse. Perhaps there used to be a bell tower west of the church, which was undermined by the fjord water. In a ashlar stone on the east side of the tower foot is carved a circle whose significance is unknown.

Avnede church appears bright and open. The well-dimensioned room, the large windows and the white walls form a harmonious whole. The baptismal font and altar table are from 1970, designed by Johs. Exner Above the altar table hangs a beautiful 15th-century crucifix as a simple and strong expression of the church's preaching. 

Opening hours By appointment with the gravedigger by phone (except Mondays). Gravedigger Arne Meldgård 28 77 48 49
Parish priest Ole Opstrup 54 93 90 30