St. Bendt's Church in Ringsted is the first royal church in Denmark and is described as the oldest brick church in Scandinavia. It was dedicated to Benedict of Nursia in 1170. In 1157 the relics of St. Canute Lavard were moved into a new chapel, and pilgrims' funds and the patronage of Valdemar the Great helped expand the church. The plan is cruciform with a central tower.
Danish kings and queens were buried here from 1182 to 1341, and the church holds many royal and noble tombs, second only to Roskilde Cathedral. It has medieval murals, oak choir stalls from 1420, a sandstone font from about 1150, a pulpit from 1609 and an altarpiece from 1699.
A fire in 1806 damaged the church and destroyed the monastery. H. B. Storck led a restoration from 1899 to 1910 that returned it to a Romanesque appearance.
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