Lysgård Church, Lysgård herred, Viborg amt

Lysgård Church, ab. 12 km south of Viborg
Lysgård sogn, Lysgård herred, Viborg amt.

The church is a Romanesque ashlar-building without a tower, it consist of choir and nave and a newer porch to the south. In the very re-walled building are few old details, like the straight-edged south door and the round choir arch with profiled kragbånd. In front of the porch lies a round arched tympanum from the north door and at the western dike of the church yard are three monolit cover stones from round arched windows. All roof gables are re-newed; the choir gable is half-timbered. The porch is white-washed, the rest stands in blank wall with small round arched iron windows from the 1800s; the church has plaster ceilings and tiled roofs.





Walled communion table. A simple altarpiece, probably from 1698 with a new painting. Altar chalice from 1750. Brass altar candelabres, given 1835 by C. Christensen in Neder Testrupgård. A Romanesque granite font with basin upon a square foot with human heads on the corners. South German baptismal bowl ab. 1575, a pewter baptismal jar ab.1600s with a relief on the lid. A small late Gothic crucifix ab. 1475 above the choir arch, with new cross and colours. A pulpit in Renaissance ab. 1600, (similar to Vium church). Neo Gothic pews from the end of the 1800s. A small money box with iron mounting. Late Romanesque church bell from 1200s, with strange relief-medaillons. Several memorial tablets from 1700s and 1800s.


Bindstow, St. St. Blicher Museum.

Upon the large Lyshøj, from which is a magnificent view across the parish, was in 1883 put up a memorial stone in granite for St. St. Blicher, who was priest in Torning-Lysgård 1819-25. A small half-timbered house close to the church is a museum for St. St. Blicher.

Names in the Middle Ages and 1600s:
Lysgård (* 1452 Lyusgardt); Sjørup (* 1470 Siørup); Bisballe(*1513 Biszballe); Katballe (*1467 Katballe); Knækkeborg (1580 Kneckeborig Lund, 1664 Knecheborg); Over Testrup (* 1513 Testrup, 1546 Offuer Testrvp); Neder Testrup (* 1513 Testrup, 1577 Neder Thestrup); Ballehus (1683 Ballehusz).

Listed prehistorics: 14 hills, of which several are rather large; just north of Lysgård upon the highest point of the parish is the large Lyshøj with the Blicher-monument; other large hills are Rishøj at Over Testrup, 2 hills at Katballe and one northwest of Lysgård.
Demolished or destroyed: 26 hills, a large part of them were in the high area, which goes from Skelhøje down to the group in Havredal plantation; a part of these hills are excavated and contained mainly Stone Age's single graves.

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962


photo Lysgård kirke/Bindstow 2002: grethe bachmann