Resen church / Resen kirke, Fjends herred, Viborg amt

Resen Church, ab. 20 km southwest of Viborg
Resen sogn, Fjends herred, Viborg amt.

The hammer cross above the plinth, south side of nave.

The large church has a Romanesuqe choir and nave with a late Gothic tower to the west. The Romanesque building is in granite ashlars, but the walls have been much re-walled, especially the south walls. The north door, which was once very narrow, is preserved as bricked-up, while the south door has disappeared. A thympanum with a hammer-cross is upon the outer wall in the south side of the nave just above the plinth. There are bricked-up windows in the east wall of the choir and the north wall of the nave. Inside are beamed ceilings and the round arched choir arch seems extended. The late Gothic western tower, which is built in re-used ashlars and monk bricks has a narrow, cross-vaulted bottom room, which is used as a porch with a new entrance door to the south and an original round-arched window in a point-arched frame to the west.

The altar piece is a rural joinery in late Renaissance 1671, with a painting from 1917. In the choir is a cupboard put together in Renaissance-pieces, given to the church in 1953. A joinery wooden baptismal font 1710, given by provst ( rural dean) Chr. Erichsøn. A south German baptismal bowl ab. 1575. A simple Renaissance pulpit with paintings from the 1700s in the fields. A painting the Holy Communion , a copy from Leonardo da Vinci hangs in the nave.

Kongenshus Mindepark is a memorial park for the cultivators of the Jutland heath. The park covers an area of 1200 ha, and in a valley through the park are put up 321 memorial stones. At the entrance to Kongenshus Mindepark is a restaurant in the main building. The park was opened in 1953.




Names in the Middle Ages:
Resen (* 1485 Resen); Koldkur (* 1507 Koldkudt, 1524 Koolkudt, 1591 Kol(d)kur); Høgild (* 1465 Høgild, 1524 Høggill); Rabis (1541 Rabbis, Robbis,); Over Torp (1541 Torp, * Offuer Torp); Neder Torp (* 1507 Neddertorup).

Listed prehistorics: 68 hills, of which a large part is in a belt along Skive Å, passing Koldkur, Mølgård, Resen and Over Torp. Rather large are two hills, which are in a group of 8 at Mølgård: Tohøjene, Brandhøj and two other hills at Koldkur, and a hill close to the border.

Demolished or destroyed: 52 hills, in the groups at Mølgård and Koldkur are excavated several hills, which gave good findings from Stone Age's single grave culture. Also a couple of Bronze Age graves are known from this hill-group: at Mølgård: dagger, tutulus (a jewelry plate in bronze) etc.; at Over Torp pålstav (war axe), dagger, bæltekrog, ( to hold the belt), 2 gold threads for a bøjlenål (brooch). - At Ågård close to Skive Å was noted a settlement from Gudenå-culture. A beautiful animal figure in amber from early Stone Age origins probably from this Resen.

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962.


photo Resen kirke/Kongenshus 2004: grethe bachmann