Billum Church

A church with something to look for

Billum Church is not grand from a distance, but it offers several concrete details to notice. Outside, the cemetery lies behind grass-covered earthen embankments, and legend tells that a giant once struck the embankment with a stone in an attempt to hit the church. The stone with the imprint of five giant fingers can still be seen in the embankment, but its exact location is not stated.

Tufa stone and round-arched panels

The church belongs to the tufa-stone churches of the Ribe area. Tufa is hardened volcanic ash imported from the Rhine region, and in Billum the material is used together with fieldstone and brick. Look especially at the apse: here the façade is divided into five round-arched blind arcades with half-columns, a detail that makes the east end more refined than the church’s simple size first suggests.

Inside the old church room

If the church interior is open, there are several layers to decipher. A weapon frieze has been exposed on the triumph wall, and there are remains of late Gothic decoration in the sacristy vault and by the chancel arch. The furnishings also reach far back, including a granite baptismal font, high altar table and preserved saint figures from a late Gothic high altarpiece. The pulpit and altarpiece were made by the Varde woodcarver Jens Olufsen, so the 1600s have also left their clear mark on the space.