Friday, August 07, 2009

Gerning church / Gerning kirke, Houlbjerg herred, Viborg amt.


Gerning Church in the mist! ab. 20 km southeast of Viborg
Gerning sogn, Houlbjerg herred, Viborg amt.

The church has a Romanesque apse, choir and nave, a late Gothic tower to the west and a porch to the south from 1869. The Romanesque building is in granite ashlars, the south door is extended and the north door has disappeared. A round-arched window in apse is re-opened, while all other original windows are gone. In the walls of the choir to the south and north is inside seen bricked-up point-arched windows from the 1300s. In the apse is a half cupola vault, rebuilt in the latest restoration, while choir and nave have cross vaults from late Gothic period, the choir one, the nave four vaults. The tower is built in monk bricks and a few ashlars, strongly rebuilt in 1944, when a half circular stair tower was addded on its west side.

In a restoration in 1900 frescoes were found upon the vaults. A simple altar piece from 1869 with Thorvaldsen's Kristus in plaster. Altar chalice given by provst Jakob Thuresen Svære. Late Gothic candelabres. A small granite font with lion figures and male heads, much re-cut. A south German baptismal bowl with initials I R D 1618. A pulpit in late Renaissance ab. 1630, with Corinthic corner pillars with new Evangelist-paintings. A church bell from 1503 by Gerhardus de Wou.


relief and chessboard pattern


old gravestones placed in the walls.


Gerning, the churchyard
Names in the Middle Ages:
Gerning (1327 Gærnyngh, 1355 Gerninge); Danstrup (*1398 Danstrup); Tind (*1410 Tinde); Borridsø (1366 Burys); Stærkær (*1399 Starkier); Hesselbjerggårde (*1407 Heszelbierggaard).

Hesselbjerggård was in 1407 owned by hr. Claus Krumpen, whose widow Sophie Olufsdatter in 1425 sold H. and Mikkelstrup to hr. Thomes Jensen.

Stærkær was in 1399 by Hagen Tygesen pawned to hr. Elef Elefsen (Bild), who in 1404 sold the pawn to Elof Jensen, who in 1419 conveyed it to the bishop in Århus, who at the same time received a deed on it by Niels Pallesen and by Peder Lykke, who shortly before had bought estate-rights in S. by Henrik Langelov. In 1458 and 1460 it was by the bishop endowed to Lange Ove Ovesen Kaas (Mur-K.) After the reformation S. came to the Crown. In the 1600s it came to the grevskab Frijsenborg. Later to Frisholt.

In a meadow area is Stærkær voldsted (castle banks); it consists of a circular middle bank, surrounded in east, west and north by a now dried moat. To the south the moat is flattened out. The plan is in full ab. 60 x 90 m.

Listed prehistorics: 18 hills, of which several are rather large: east of Gerning is Ringsøhøj, the only preserved in a group of four. Southeast of Danstrup are 4 large hills, the last of a group of ten. Just north of Tislund skov is the large, high-placed Volshøj.
Demolished or destroyed: 83 hills, mainly at Kraghede north of Hesselbjerg teglværk(tileworks) were large hill-groups; in one of the hills in the last group was a stone cist with two flint daggers and an arrow head. In a hill at Danstrup Bundgård was a rich grave from early Bronze Age with sword, pålstav (war axe), gold-fingerring etc.

Along Gudenå are noted several settlements from the Gudenå-culture. In a low area among hills were 3 heavy thin-necked axes and a large flint-block. At Mågård was found a rich grave from Germanic Iron Age with gold- and silver rings, glass- and amber-pearls and clay-pots.

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962


photo Gerning december 2006: grethe bachmann

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