Alstrup church / Alstrup kirke, Gislum herred, Aalborg amt.

Alstrup Church, 20 km southwest of Aars
Alstrup sogn, Gislum herred, Aalborg amt.

The high-placed church with a tiled roof in Alstrup has a Romanesque choir and nave. The western tower is probably in its origin from the 1300s. The porch to the south is new. The Romanesque building-parts are in granite ashlars. From original details are the choir archs, the north window of the choir, a narrow walled priest-door at the north side of the choir and the round-arched south-door of the nave. From the north door and the other Romanesque windows are no traces in the re-built granite walls. The choir and nave have old beamed ceilings. The Gothic bottom of the tower is built in granite ashlars, but it has a probably original round-arched monk-brick-door to the north which is now walled. The tower room has an original cross-vault, a round western window and a round-arched archade to the nave. The top of the tower was according to a document of bishop Lintrup in 1722 broken down without permission. The new part of the tower is white-washed like the small porch which is built in yellow bricks.

The Communion table is granite. Upon the altar piece are figures from a late Gothic altar piece from ab. 1450. Romanesque granite font with a smooth basin. The baptismal bowl is south German from ab. 1550-1600. Pulpit in early Renaissance with diamond-shaped fields like the pulpit in Lovns from 1576. New pews. New three-master church ship. Church bell with minuskel-inscription from 1481.


Lovns Sø

Names in the Middle Ages and 1600s:
Alstrup (1464 Alstorpp, Alstrop); Illerisgårde (1473 Ilriis); Hestbækgård (1470 Hestebek); Vester Elkær (1443 Væster Ællækyær) Øster Elkær (1664 Øster Elkier); Kaldal (1552 Kalldall); Lundgård (1466 Lundgardh).

At Gedsted Aa and Gedstedbro was Tunde Mølle (Mill) (1443 Thunnæ Mølle) and Mølholm (1464 Møllholm) owned by Mette Ottesdatter Krummedige and her children Birgitte Povlsdatter Hvide and Hans Poulsen Hvide.

In a deep valley between Alstrup and Lovns village south of Øster Elkær is a large bank site. Many driven in oak poles have been found with traces of burn at the top. In 1883-85 was an excavation where clay-pots were found and traces of a burnt down wooden building. Possibly this is part of a legend written down by Evald Tang Kristensen about a castle in Kaldal. (E.T.Kristensen: Sagn og overtro fra Jylland, 1883)

North of the country road is a stone-fenced sacred spring "Brudekilden", re-found in 1956.

Listed prehistorics: 3 longhills, of which one probably is a long dolmen (stones are removed), 40 hills, one contains a passage grave and chamber. Impressive are the pretty cupola-formed Bjørnehøj, 3 Toruphøje, the very large Store Lodhøj, Bavnehøj, Lille Lodhøj, Tværhøj and 4-5 others. Furthermore a hollow-stone with 4 hollows and an Iron Age stonegrave.
Demolished or destroyed: A long dolmen, a dolmen chamber, a longhill, a stone cist and 35 hills.
At Lovns Sø is a small kitchen midden.

Source: Trap Danmark, Aalborg amt, 1961


photo Alstrup kirke 2003: grethe bachmann