Urup Church

Blue tones and glossy brick

Urup Church stands freely in the landscape west of Billund, and the small whitewashed building immediately appears simple. Take a closer look, and the Art Nouveau style emerges in the round-arched windows, the tower's brick niches and the clean, symmetrical form.

Inside, the space is kept in calm blue shades. The nave and apse have plastered, whitewashed barrel vaults, while the chancel arch and the lower wall sections are in exposed brick. Behind the altar, a painted decoration forms a blue field with rope ornaments, rosettes and six-pointed stars; in the middle stands the simple gilded altar cross.

Craftsmanship at eye level

Much of the church furnishings date from the time of the church's construction and were designed together with the building. This gives the church interior a rare, unified character: the pew ends have relief-carved flowers, and the pulpit repeats the flowers in its woodwork.

A local building project

The church came into being in an area where the population grew in step with the reclamation of the heath. The final location was not without debate, and local volunteers helped bring bricks from Eg Station. A quieter detail can be found on the south side: behind the sixth seat, the masons placed dark-fired bricks as a small cross in the wall.