Staby Church
Romanesque ashlar church, which is famous for its apse with its two unique clover-shaped windows and the six round-arched arcades supported by 7 half-columns.
Another unusual feature is the many blocks of a dark rusty brown rock type – “iron sandstone” and which in several places appear as entire bands.
Romanesque ashlar
Staby Church is the local parish church and is located at the southern end of the village of Staby in Holstebro in the western end of the municipality. It is a Romanesque ashlar church from around the 13th century and several decorative items, including the two stone portraits in the chancel arch, a man's and a woman's portrait, help to emphasize the church as an original nobleman's church. Perhaps they are portraits of the church's founders.
A rich parish with several owners of the church
Staby parish is limited on two corners of the world by large West Jutland water areas. To the north Nissum Fjord and Felsted Kog. To the west Husby lake. The fjord and lake originally had good fishing, and the wetlands meant that the parish had large meadow areas for cattle and bullock farming and haymaking. This meant that Staby parish was considered one of the prosperous West Jutland fjord parishes in ancient times. Staby parish previously had no less than 4 noble manors or manors. After many different owners, from the Bishop of Ribe, Mariager Monastery, Pallisbjerg's changing owners and a Ringkøbing merchant, Staby Church became freehold in 1918.
The church building
The oldest parts of Staby Church are the apse, choir and nave. At a later date, the nave was extended and in the late Gothic period, i.e. at the beginning of the 15th century, the church was extended again with the wide tower that stands today. The church's original doorways, approximately opposite each other to the north and south, are both preserved, but are part of the two side buildings, the porch and chapel, so they are not visible from the outside. The tower was originally taller and had a spire and four gables. It must have resembled the tower on the neighboring church in Husby. This type of church tower is most common in West Schleswig. But in 1719, two of the gables fell down during a storm. The spire was not rebuilt and instead the tower was given its current gable roof. With its 25 meters height, it stands out in the flat West Jutland landscape.
Apse – the house of wisdom
The 7 half-columns and the two beautiful 4-clover-shaped windows are undoubtedly carriers of a deep symbolism, the premise of which is a theological thinking that develops during the 12th century. The seven columns can probably be interpreted from the words in the Bible – Proverbs 9:1: “Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars”. This is intended to express that Christ should not only be perceived as God’s Power and Authority, but also as God’s Wisdom. The number symbolism has many layers. 7 is thus composed of 3 (the Trinity) + 4, which is the symbolic number of the world and man. 4 is a symbol for the elements, for the corners of the world, the rivers of paradise, the 4 gospels and much more.
Iron sandstone and strange furrows in the choir wall
The decorative and widespread use in Staby Church may remind us of some of the masterpieces of Romanesque architecture in Italy. It is a bit of a mystery where the many iron sandstone stones were obtained from. Geologists do not know the origin of the stone type as a rock type – but several experts, including Museum Inspector Jens Aarup Jensen, Ringkøbing Museum, have assessed that not many counties have been traveled around to find them. On the north wall of the choir, a strange phenomenon can be observed. In a couple of the iron sandstone shifts up to a good meter above the cemetery terrain, you can see some long furrows. These are not weathering furrows. They must therefore have been created by humans. According to a local tradition, the parish's farmers had their plowshares blessed at this place before spring work by curving them over the church wall. Similar traditions are known at a few other churches.
Exciting effects in the church interior
In addition to the two portraits in the chancel, a large, striking stone block with a crowned male figure, whose hands are held up in worship, is inserted into the chancel wall. Is it a figure of Christ or is it the king? Several of the frescoes were uncovered and brought out during the restoration in 1989 – especially the large pictures on the north wall, which date to 1545. Behind the grave chapel's wrought iron door from 1725 with a mirror monogram for Frans de Linde, lord of Pallisbjerg, are four coffins with members of the family.
Relations to Geopark West Jutland
A significant non-geological site that, with its exciting building materials, including iron sandstone, can still present geological challenges.