Købelev: Japanese Garden and Church History

Købelev offers visitors plenty to discover: a botanical Japanese garden, a historic church and archaeological finds whose interpretation points to Vikings of exceptionally high status. The different highlights give you the opportunity to plan your stay around garden design, church art or local history.

Garden spaces at Købelevhaven

Købelevhaven is a botanical Japanese garden at Oddevej 116 in Købelev. The grounds showcase different scales: Prydhaven is the largest and oldest section. Zenhaven, by contrast, is a 200 m² Japanese dry garden created for meditation and based on authentic Japanese principles. Around 70 different varieties of magnolia grow throughout the garden.

Those interested in garden design will find several distinct aspects here: an extensive, historic garden area, a clearly defined dry garden for meditation, and a widely distributed collection of magnolias. This makes Købelevhaven a destination for visitors who enjoy exploring plants and garden styles.

The grounds also include a plant shop offering selected perennials, trees and shrubs, as well as an area where you can enjoy your own food and drinks. There are pavilions, tables and benches in attractive surroundings. If you plan to make use of these facilities during your visit, check the current conditions in advance.

Church, vicarage and historic furnishings

Købelev Præstegård and Købelev Kirke form a well-preserved cultural setting, with intact visual connections and a link to the garden. An opening in the church wall provides access to the church and churchyard. This connection is a distinctive feature of the ensemble, adding a broader cultural context to the individual historic objects.

The church furnishings reflect different periods. The altarpiece, dating from 1841, features an oil painting by C.W. Eckersberg depicting the Last Supper. Other features include a Renaissance pulpit from 1593 and one of the very few surviving Gudme organs. One of the pews bears the name of peasant leader Otto Kuld, along with the year 1646.

Several gravestones from the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century are located in the tower room and outside the western tower door. The restorations of 1883, 1970 and 2016 are also part of the church’s history. Concrete dates help place the different periods in context, from the Renaissance pulpit and the dated pew to the 19th-century altarpiece.

Archaeological traces near Købelev

Finds from the surrounding area also offer a glimpse into local history. Fragments of silver needles and a mould for making costume buckles were found at the site near Købelev. The finds suggest that Vikings of exceptionally high status lived near present-day Købelev. Another find near Købelev is a rune-inscribed Thor’s hammer, discovered with a metal detector.

The archaeological evidence and the church’s historic objects tell different parts of the past: one concerns finds and a cautiously worded interpretation of life near the present-day town; the other, artworks, an organ and memorials in the church. This distinction helps put the topics into context without combining them into a single story.

Plan a stay that suits you

If you’re looking for a holiday apartment in Købelev, you can make your choice based on the kind of discovery that appeals to you most. Købelevhaven offers botanical design and plants, the church offers historic art and architectural history, and the archaeological finds offer a distinct perspective on the area’s past.

Discover more destinations: Gloslunde, Langholm, Søllested, Fejø, Harpelunde, Askø By, Vesterborg Sogn, Sletnæs.

For the full travel overview: Lolland.