Sonderborg No. 1 / Sønderborg / Sonderburg

Baptismal font listed in Mackeprang (1941. 2003) as a font imported from Gotland. A 2 May 2013 YouTube video by the Museum Sonderjylland
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYDvwwcl450] [accessed 3 April 2026] describes and illustrates a medieval baptismal font; the narrator, Arne Reggelsen, informs that the font was probably originally from St. Nikolai, the first church in Sønderborg: "Gode historier fra Sønderjylland: På Sønderborg Slot kan man se en romansk døbefont sandsynligvis fra Sønderborgs første kirke, Skt. Nikolai.Arne Reggelsen fortæller, hvorledes døbefonten kom på museum takket være den usædvanlige indsats af en museumsinspektør og en hertug." The font, which appears monolithic, consists of a roughly-hemispherical basin on a squat round base; the only decorative element on the font is a single roll moulding just below the upper rim; the unlined basin has a centre drain hole. There are two notches at opposite ends of the upper rim, likely evidence of anchorings for an old cover, but no lid is present now. The material appears granite-like but may be a coarse limestone.
A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 31 March 2026) informs: "Baptismal font from the first church in Sønderborg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYDvwwcl450 Den tyvstjålne døbefont -- from the first Saint Nicolas church of Sonderborg, now in Museum Sonderjylland. At Sønderborg Castle you can see a Romanesque baptismal font, probably from Sønderborg's first church, St. Nikolai. Arne Reggelsen tells how the baptismal font came to the museum thanks to the extraordinary efforts of a museum curator and a duke."