Mårup Church

Mårup Church (Danish: Mårup Kirke) was a Romanesque church located in Vendsyssel in Denmark's northern Jutland. The church was built on Lønstrup Klint, a cliff on the North Sea near the town of Lønstrup in the Hjørring municipality. The area is noted for its windswept landscape, constantly shifting sands and eroding coastline. After hundreds of years of erosion brought the North Sea dangerously close, the church was partially dismantled in 2008 to prevent its falling into the sea. The walls remain at the site, along with the anchor of a British frigate that sank off the coast in 1808.

Mårup Church was built around 1250 in the late Romanesque style. It was a simple brick structure typical of Jutland village churches, consisting of nave and choir. A tower existing in the 18th century was demolished and a free-standing bell tower was erected of wood. The church had arched pilasters, some of which can still be seen.

On December 6, 1808, HMS Crescent, a British frigate on its way to Gothenburg, Sweden, sank while bringing supplies to the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. More than 200 sailors were buried in a common grave; seven officers and 55 seamen survived. Two additional British ships sank off Denmark's west coast and the British installed a tablet to honor the dead in 1895.

The church was built in the middle of the parish, about 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) from the coast. It was used until 1926, when a new church was built in nearby Lønstrup. The old building was maintained by the National Museum of Denmark, which took possession of the church in 1952. In 1998, extensive archaeological work was undertaken on the site. The church had preservation status until 2005, when it was terminated so that the building could be dismantled. The final church service was held Easter 2008.

Lønstrup Klint is geologically unique and has lost on average 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) to erosion per year for the past 300 years. While erosion continued to threaten the church, shifting sands have been burying the Rubjerg Knude lighthouse a short distance to the south. The lighthouse operated for just a few decades, while adjacent buildings were turned into a museum about the shifting sands. A few years later, it was abandoned.

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