Elmelunde Kirke

The oldest stone church on Møn, with wall paintings by the Elmelunde Master

By Ingo Kroll · updated 31 October 2026 · Sources below

Elmelunde Kirke (Elmelunde Church) is a Romanesque village church in Elmelunde, about 9 km east of Stege. It is regarded as the oldest stone church on Møn, and its vaults and walls carry wall paintings by the Elmelunde Master, after whom the workshop is named. According to the parish the church is open daily from 9 am to 8 pm (as of October 2026). You can easily combine a visit with Keldby Kirke and the chalk cliffs.

History and building phases

The church stands on a hill with wide views and was long a landmark for sailors. East of it lies a burial mound that the parish places in the Bronze Age. The first stone church was built in the late 11th century. lex.dk says around 1075, the parish around 1085. It had a nave with walls 6.5 m high and small, high-set windows, plus a lower and narrower chancel. Only the chancel arch wall and the two long walls of that building still stand. Herringbone masonry on the north side shows how early it was built.

Around 1200 the nave was extended to the west, in brick. The old north and south doorways were walled up, and since then the entrance has been in the south-west. The vault in the nave replaced the beamed ceiling around 1462. The tower went up in two stages: the lower part is from the 14th century, the upper part was finished around 1500. At about the same time a longer chancel replaced the Romanesque one, and the porch was added. The sacristy followed around 1700. The weathervanes on the tower carry the year 1826 (Keldby-Elmelunde parish, lex.dk, as of October 2026).

The wall paintings of the Elmelunde Master

The oldest paintings date from 1462. An inscription in the eastern vault above the chancel arch names the churchwarden Johannes Judhe and Ascension Day 1462 as the date. The new vaults then received geometric patterns along the arches. Towards the end of the 15th century that layer was whitewashed over. A painter whose name is unknown and who is called the Elmelunde Master then decorated walls and vaults. lex.dk dates the main decoration to 1500 to 1520 and ascribes it to a workshop. Why and when the older layer disappeared is not known to the parish, and the patron is also unknown.

The theme is the creation and re-creation of mankind, mostly drawn from the New Testament, with legends and everyday scenes such as ploughing and hunting. Flowers, stars and scrollwork wind between the pictures. The master probably worked from models in the Biblia pauperum, the poor man's Bible. You can recognise his figures by their heads and their sleepy eyes. The colours are black, light and dark ochre, Spanish green and cinnabar red, which survives only as dark patches on cloaks, angels' wings and stars.

According to lex.dk the subjects are spread as follows:

Chancel: the Trinity in the east, the scourged Christ in the south, the entry into Jerusalem in the west.
Nave, eastern vault: the Last Judgement, the gate of heaven with St Peter, the damned in the mouth of hell, plus the Annunciation, the Visitation and the Nativity.
Nave, middle vault: the Three Kings, the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt and the legend of the fast-growing seed.
Nave, western vault: the prayer of the rich and the poor man, the creation of Adam and Eve, the Fall with the expulsion from Paradise.
Animals: among others a unicorn and a lion in the lower fields of the vault webs.

The paintings were uncovered in 1885 to 1887, and in 1895 Professor Magnus Pedersen restored them. The National Museum carried out a major restoration in 1969 and 1970: the vault was cleaned, earlier interventions were corrected and further paintings were found. On the nave walls and at the chancel arch there are remains of Romanesque decoration that for technical and financial reasons cannot be uncovered at present.

The furnishings include the altarpiece of 1646 in auricular style, a work by Henrik Werner, donated by Corfitz Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina. The pulpit of 1649 has five panels with Christ and the four Evangelists and stands on a figure of St Peter. In the tower room there is an organ by Frobenius from 1917. In the nave hangs the model of the "Enhjørningen", a ship of 1605 that sailed to Greenland in 1619 under Jens Munk; the model came to the church in 1946 (parish, lex.dk).

Altarpiece in Elmelunde Kirke with inscription panel and figures — The altar of Elmelunde Kirke

Visiting: opening hours, services and rules

The churches in Keldby and Elmelunde open and lock their doors automatically and are accessible daily from 9 am to 8 pm (Keldby-Elmelunde parish, as of October 2026). The parish does not state an admission price. Services and events are listed in the calendar on keldbyelmelundekirke.dk. On the site the parish mentions, among other things, the confirmation in Elmelunde on 25 April 2027.

The parish asks visitors to respect the churches as consecrated spaces and to be considerate during services and church ceremonies. For guided tours or stories about the church it names the local historian Jim Falk Hansen as a contact; the contact details are on the parish contact page.

Getting there and parking

The church is on Kirkebakken in Elmelunde, and the access road branches off Klintevej, the main road from Stege to Møns Klint. From Stege it is 8.8 km and about 11 minutes by car, from GeoCenter Møns Klint 13.2 km and about 17 minutes, from Liselund Castle 8.6 km and about 10 minutes, from Keldby Kirke 4.1 km and about 6 minutes (OpenStreetMap routing, as of October 2026). The map below shows the church and its neighbours.

There is a gravel car park right at the church, free of charge according to OpenStreetMap (as of October 2026). Nearby, OpenStreetMap lists a free toilet that is wheelchair accessible. On Klintevej there is also the bus stop "Elmelunde Kirke" (Movia); timetables are on rejseplanen.dk.

Loading fetches map tiles from OpenStreetMap. · Sketch: © OpenStreetMap contributors

1: Elmelunde Kirke
2: Keldby Kirke
3: Fanefjord Kirke
4: Liselund Castle
5: GeoCenter Møns Klint

More churches with wall paintings on Møn

Paintings in three churches on Møn are ascribed to the Elmelunde Master. On Falster, Tingsted, Nørre Alslev and Åstrup are added (Keldby-Elmelunde parish, Wikipedia).

Keldby Kirke is only 4.1 km away and shows three eras on top of each other: a frieze of scenes in the chancel around 1275, the Last Judgement on the chancel arch wall around 1325 and the master's vault paintings around 1480. The village, location and opening hours are described on the page Keldby.

Fanefjord Kirke stands on a hill above the Fanefjord between Store Damme and Hårbølle, 23.8 km from Elmelunde. The nave dates from the second half of the 13th century, the oldest frescoes on the chancel arch were made around 1350, the largest group around 1500. They were uncovered from under the plaster in 1932 to 1934, and the major restoration ended in 2009. You will find more on this church under things to see and do on Møn, and the nearby village is Hårbølle.

Fanefjord Kirke with scaffolding on the tower and signposts to Hårbølle and Grønsalen — Fanefjord Kirke, also with paintings by the Elmelunde Master

Combining it with Møns Klint and Liselund

The church lies on the route between Stege and the east coast and makes a convenient stop on the way to the chalk cliffs. The cliffs, stairs and viewpoints are described on the page Chalk cliffs of Møn, the museum on the page GeoCenter Møns Klint. You reach the landscape park with the white castle from Elmelunde in about ten minutes: Liselund Castle. Walks in the area are listed under Hiking on Møn, and you will find restaurants and shops in Stege.

Where to stay nearby

Elmelunde is in the middle of the island: it is 11 minutes to Stege and 17 minutes to the GeoCenter. The accommodation guide for Møn shows places to stay of every kind, and you can also find rooms and holiday homes directly here:

Where to stay

Selected places to stay on Møn

Partner links: we earn a commission on bookings, the price does not change for you.

Selected by guest rating on Booking.com, as of 30 October 2026.

All places to stay on Møn

Sources and last update

As of 31 October 2026

FAQ

Where is Elmelunde Kirke?

In Elmelunde in the middle of Møn, on a hill on the road Kirkebakken, which branches off Klintevej. From Stege it is 8.8 km by car, about 11 minutes (OpenStreetMap routing, as of October 2026). There is a gravel car park right at the church, which is free according to OpenStreetMap.

When is Elmelunde Church open, and what does it cost to get in?

The Keldby-Elmelunde parish says the churches in Keldby and Elmelunde are open daily from 9 am to 8 pm and that their doors open and lock automatically (as of October 2026). The parish does not state an admission price. For services and events, the calendar on keldbyelmelundekirke.dk shows the current dates.

How old is Elmelunde Kirke?

It is regarded as the oldest stone church on Møn. The Romanesque core dates from the late 11th century, lex.dk says around 1075, the parish around 1085. Around 1200 the nave was extended to the west, and the tower was built from about 1300 and finished around 1500.

Who was the Elmelunde Master, and what do his wall paintings show?

The Elmelunde Master is an unknown painter, named after the church. The parish dates his decoration to the end of the 15th century, lex.dk to 1500 to 1520 and speaks of a workshop. Subjects include the Last Judgement, the Three Kings, the flight into Egypt, the creation of Adam and Eve and the Fall.

Which other churches on Møn have paintings by the Elmelunde Master?

The churches of Keldby, 4.1 km away, and Fanefjord, 23.8 km away (driving distance, OpenStreetMap routing, as of October 2026). On Falster he is also credited with paintings in Tingsted, Nørre Alslev and Åstrup (Keldby-Elmelunde parish).