Simested church / Sinding kirke, Rinds herred, Viborg amt.

Simested Church in Simested village, ab. 18 km northwest of Hobro.
Simested sogn, Rinds herred, Viborg amt.

The church in Simested has a Romanesque choir and nave with a late Gothic tower to the west and a porch from 1884 to the north. The Romanesque building is in granite ashlars. Both doors are preserved, the north door is in use, the south door bricked-up. The south door is covered by a stone beam with a small greek cross under a chevron-pattern. One original window is preserved in the north wall of the choir. In the late Gothic period was added a tower to the west with a cross-vaulted bottom room with a pointed tower arch. A free stairway on the north side leads up to the middle storey. At the same time was built an octagonal cross vault in the choir, and the choir arch was probably extended, but with the use of the old kragsten. The nave has a beamed ceiling. Caused by decay the building has had several repairs.

Altar piece from 1883 with painting from 1722. Romanesque granite font with a smooth basin. Pulpit from 1884 with Evangelist-paintings. Church bell by master Petrus de Randrusia ab. 1440. At the churchyard north of the choir a Romanesque gravestone with relief of a processions-cross.

Simested Å

Names in the Middle Ages and 1600s:
Simested ( *1495 Semestedt, 1501 Simistet, Simestet); Torup (*1396 Todrup, Totrup, 1466 Tharupp, 1477 Thorop); Hverrestrup (1477 Viriestrop, 1478 Hværæstrvp); Eveldrup (1477 Evelstrvp, 1524 Eebelstrvp, 1546 Ebbildrvp); Guldager (*1470 Gulagger, 1483 Gulagher, 1499 Guldager); Båndrup (1524 Barndrop, Bandrvp); Skedshale(*1454 Skiedshale); Korsø (*1472 Korsberg, Kores, 1524 Kaarszøø); Dalsgård Huse (1524 Dalsgardt); Korsøgård (1664 Korszøegaard); Bjergegård (*1512 Biergraff, Bierge gard.)

Rigsråd Mogens Jensen (Gyrstinge) bought Korsøgård shortly before his death ab. 1447. It was inherited by the son rigsråd Oluf Mortensen (Gyrstinge), whose daughter Anne brought the farm to her husband Peder Skram (Fasti)(+ ab. 1540). Then to their son Erik Skram (Fasti)( + 1568), but Christen Grøn lived there in 1543. Already in 1563 Laurids Eriksen Skram (Fasti)( + 1587) owned K., which by his daughter Maren, widow after Jakob Hardenberg, in 1624 was left to the sister's daughter's children Oluf and Lisbeth Daa, m. to Jakob Ulfeldt, who in 1634 sold it to hr. Mogens Kaas (Sparre-K.)( + 1656). His son Erik Kaas owned it in 1663, and lost it in 1666, when Christen Olufsen in Viborg had it by law. In 1681 it was sold to Peter Benzon of Havnø( + 1701.) Several owners: Benzon, Friis, Lund, Rantzau etc. The main building was totally rebuilt in 1911, while the old farm buildings in granite boulders from 1870 still stand.

Where the Viborg-Ålborg road passes Simested Å, was a vaulted medieval stone-bridge, similar to Løvel. Remains were found in 1900.

Listed prehistorics: 2 longdolmens, one dolmen chamber, 2 longhills, one 75 m long, and 88 hills; from those are 37 upon the long hillside Hverrestrup bakker; one of these is the large Bavnehøj, and here is also the dolmen chamber.
Demolished or destroyed: One long dolmen and 122 hills. - In Langemosen ( a moor) at Hverrestrup was found an important sacrifice finding from late Bronze Age: hængekar ( jewelry for the belt), necklace, 3 bracelets. An Iron Age settlement is known north of Torup.

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962.


photo Simested April 2009: grethe bachmann