Kallundborg Kirke

Fig. 16. Kirken før 1827; efter et gammelt Maleri. — The church prior to 1827; after an old picture. Midtertaarnet er, som før nævnt, ganske moderne men op« ført paa Grundlag af gamle Opmaalinger og Billeder af Kir« ken fra Tiden før Taarnets Nedstyrtning den 7. September 1827 (Fig. 16 og 17). 1 de nedre Stokværker havde det til hver Side ganske smalle Glugger og i øverste Stokværk Dobbelt«Vinduer af lignende Art som i de øvrige Taarne. Paa hver Taarnside var en muret Spidsgavl med en spidsbuet Blinding. Over Gav« lene rejste sig et højt ottekantet Spir, hvis Grater løb ud mod Taarnhjørnerne og Gavlspidserne. Hvorvidt de fire Spidsgav« le har været der fra først af, kan være tvivlsomt; men da det oprindelige Midttaarn ikke mere eksisterer, er det umuligt at udtale sig bestemt herom. Taarnene paa Korsarmene er ifølge disses polygonale Af« slutning ottekantede og rejser sig op over Korsarmene, uden at disses Gesimser er ført omkring dem; kun paa Østtaarnet findes et enkelt Savsnitsskifte, antagelig anbragt for at frem« hæve Korpartiet fra de øvrige Korsarme. Fra en Højde af 7—8 Skifter under Skibets og Korsarmenes Gesims har de fire Taarnes Murværk en noget anden Karakter end det nederste Murværk, idet Stenene gennemgaaende er noget mindre og af en anden, gulligere eller lysere Farve; kun paa Østtaarnet er Forskellen mindre iøjnefaldende. Dette tyder paa, at man først kun har opført Taarnene i Højde med den øvrige Del af Kir« ken, og at der har været en — omend kun kort — Standsning i Arbejdet paa dette Tidspunkt. Da disse Taarne hører til de Ting ved Kallundborg Kirke, som gør den saa enestaaende i Samtidens Arkitektur, ligger den Tanke nær, at spørge om de har været paatænkt og plan« lagt fra først af. Flere Forhold tyder paa, at man først under Arbejdet har besluttet at opføre de fire Korsarmstaarne. For det første fordrer Planens Korsform ikke med Nødvendighed Taarne for Enderne af Korsarmene, selv om disse er poly« gonalt afsluttede; for det andet er Taarnene mærkeligt ukon« The central tower, as was stated earlier, is quite modern, but constructed on the basis of old measurements and pie« tures of the church from the period prior to the fall of the tower, September 7, 1827 (Fig. 16 and 17). On the lower storeys on each side were very small holes, and in the upper storey double windows similar to those in the other towers. On each side of the tower was a brick pointed gable with a pointed«arch facing. Above the gables rose a high octagonal spire whose arrises ran out toward the corners of the tower and the points of the gables. Whether or not the four pointed gables were there originally, is uncertain, but as the original central tower no longer exists it is impossible to make any definite state« ment in the matter. The towers of the transepts, as determined by their poly« gonal finish, are octagonal and rise above the transepts whose cornices are not continued around them. On the east tran« sept, only, is a single saw«notch course, presumably placed there to distinguish the choir from the other transepts. From a distance of 7—8 courses below the cornices of the nave and the transepts, the wall of the four towers has a character somewhat different from the lower part, the bricks are small« er and of another, more yellow, or lighter, color. In the east transept this difference is less noticeable. This would indicate that the towers were first built to the same height as the other parts of the church, and that there was an interruption, though only a short one, in the work at this point. As the towers belong to those details of Kallundborg Church which make it so unique in the architecture of its time, it is quite natural to ask whether they were planned and designed from the very beginning. Many facts seem to indi« cate that the four towers of the transepts were decided upon while the building was under construction. In the first place a cruciform design does not necessarily require towers at the extremities of the transepts, even though these are polygonal. In the second place the towers are strangely unconstructive, for the three surfaces turned toward the central tower were built directly above the barrel«vaultings of the transepts, after these were rough«cast on the upper side, and without any arch of support having been built, so that almost the en« tire weight of the three sides of each tower rests upon the one«brick«thick vaulting, and is, moreover, placed just above the windows in the long side of the transept where the walls are weakest. If the towers had been planned from the begin« ning, pilasters and arches to bear those portions of the towers which extend in over the vaultings, thus relieving the strain, would also have been built. Finally, as has already been stat« ed, the masonry of the towers, which for a time remained at the same height as the walls of the nave and the transepts, and too, the construction of the western entrance, which was first planned without projection, may be explained by the fact that only when the church was being constructed was it de« cided to build towers on the transepts, and this necessitated changing the half«completed entrance, and it was given a pro« jection which could serve as a buttress. Naturally the desire to give the entrance a projection may have corne from other reasons too. That motive is used in the almost contemporary entrance to the north transept of Ringsted Church, and is 14