The Sand-Covered Church

Sankt Laurentii was built in the fourteenth century and was the largest church in the region, serving a prosperous fishing town, until the sand began to move. Drifting dunes, worsened by the clearance of the marram-covered heath, buried the surrounding land through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and parishioners had to dig the door clear before each service until the church was finally abandoned by royal decree in 1795. The nave was demolished for its materials and the tower was left standing as a sea mark, whitewashed, and it stands now alone in the dune with the outline of the vanished nave marked in the sand behind it. Pines were later planted to fix the dunes, which is why the setting is now scrub rather than open sand.

History

The church of St Lawrence was built in the late 14th century and is first mentioned after a Hanseatic ship stranded at Skagen on 31 March 1387, when cloth salvaged from the wreck was carried to it and Queen Margaret I received 400 pieces. It belonged to the crown until 1459 and then to the Hospital of the Holy Ghost in Aalborg. Around 1600 sand began drifting in from the Råbjerg Mile, destroying the fields and burying the nearby village, and by the end of the 18th century it had reached the church: on Great Prayer Day in 1775 the door had to be dug free so the congregation could attend, and for the next 20 years the people of Skagen struggled to keep it clear. In 1795 the church was closed by royal decree and its body demolished; its chalice, candlesticks and a bell went to the new Skagen Church built by C. F. Hansen in 1841. The floor, altar and font are thought to lie still under the sand, the National Museum owns the site, and the whitewashed tower is kept as a navigation mark; Hans Christian Andersen used it as a setting in one of his stories (Wikipedia, Sand-Covered Church).

What you'll find

• The whitewashed tower alone in the dune - all that was left standing.
• The marked outline of the nave - the vanished church laid out behind.
• Dune and planted pine - the sand that buried it, now held by trees.
• The abandonment story - a church dug out before every service.

When to go

April to October, when the tower interior opens; the exterior is accessible year round and free. One hour. Late afternoon light on the white tower against the dune is best.

Good to know

Only the tower survives, so the visit is short. Interior access is seasonal and limited. Planted pine has changed the setting so the drama of open sand is gone. Parking fills in summer and the walk from Skagen is longer than it looks.

Nearby

Skagen and Grenen are north-east; Rabjerg Mile lies south-west.

Key facts