Author(s)

MAJ BJERRE DALSGAARD

Abstract

The departure of this paper is a PhD project regarding Danish medieval churches. The purpose of the study is to examine and define an acceptable work span between the architectural resources, the cultural values and the potentials of the church buildings as seen by the citizens. This paper regards the part of the PhD project, which includes an exploration of the significance of the church buildings from the perspective of the people who live in their presence. The exploration of this situation will be conducted primarily by qualitative interviews, and takes its departure in theories of space and place, and how humans relate to these concepts. The interviewees will be inhabitants in the rural parishes chosen by a parameter that guarantee a representation of a broad range of people: from people who would be defined as outsiders to the church, to people who consider themselves insiders by virtue of being a member and user, or even an employee of the church. The study has no ambition to find a final answer to the significance of the church buildings, but to explore and display the broad range of different perceptions, significances and value the church buildings represent to the individual. A part of the interview study seeks to explore the potential of reuse or combined use of the lesser used churches seen through the eyes of the inhabitants of the rural communities. The present paper outlines the background, theory and methodology of the qualitative interview exploration.

Keywords

medieval churches, church architecture, developing heritage buildings, affective spaces, qualitative research, research interview