Vorde church / Vorde kirke, Nørlyng herred, Viborg amt.

Vorde Church, ab. 10km north of Viborg
Vorde sogn, Nørlyng herred, Viborg amt.

Vorde church is situated in a high place with a view to all four corners; it has a choir and nave from the Romanesque period, a tower to the west and a porch to the south. The Romanesque walls are in granite ashlars. Two original bricked-up windows are preserved , one in the choir gable and one in the north wall of the nave, also the two doors of the nave, the bricked-up north door is seen as a niche, while the south door is still in use. At the repair in 1938 an original door which had earlier been bricked-up, was found in the middle of the north wall. The late Medieval tower, which is built partly in re-used ashlars from the broken through west gable and partly in monk bricks, has in the bottom a crosss-vaulted room, which opens to the nave in a point arched arkade. The late Medieval porch has a round arched door below a flat gable with a cross. The choir arch inside is preserved with ashlar arcade and carved snakes on the kragsten, and the nave and choir have beamed ceilings.

At a restoration of the pulpit in 1928 was found a carved post from the earliest altar decoration of the church; it is now at the National Museum. The present altar piece was originally in Viborg Gråbrødrekirke, from where it was bought in 1813 at an auction. It is a Protestan triptychon from ab. 1615; in the middle field a painted crucifix, remade from faint traces during the repair in 1937, another altar picture from ab. 1800 hangs upon the wall of the nave. An old chasuble from the beginning of the 1700s with a crucifix embroidered in gold- and silver thread, also origins from the same church in Viborg. Two altar candelabres in late Medieval shape. A Romanesque granite font similar to Fiskbæk Church, square with corner heads and leaf-ornaments on the basin. Pulpit from the beginning of the 1600s , a carved year 1671 is now replaced with the year 1621. Between nave and porch an old door wing with Renaissance carvings, according to inscription given 1623 by Christen Wore in Kærgård. A church ship, fullrigged ship "Hjarbæk", from 1931.

In Navntoft was a church, but the site is destroyed and cultivated. Some foundation stones have been digged up, and human bones found on the church yard. An examination in 1924 showed that the building had been 18,5 m long and 6,9 and 7,8 m broad. A memorial stone has been raised at the place.


Hjarbæk Kro

Hjarbæk was earlier an important load place, Viborg's sea port, but when the rail road arrived the port lost its importance.

Names in the Middle Ages and 1600s:
Vorde (*1216 Worthegh, 1447 Vordhe); Kølsen (* 1440 Kiølsen, 1461 Kylsen, Kylsæn, Kiølsen, 1471 Kiølsingh); Hjarbæk (* 1440 Hiardbeck, 1518 Hierdbeck, 1524 Hiardbeck); Navntoft (* 1470 Nawentoffth); Lyngsø (ab. 1525 Lyøngsøø); Kølsengårde (1664 Kølsen Gaard); Lundsgårde (1471 Lundzgordh); Vordegårde (1524 Vordegardt).


View from the church

From very old times Viborg chapter had much estate in the area at Hjarbæk fjord.

In the parish were the settlements Rorup (*1459 Rarup, 1683 Rorup-) to which the canons in Viborg in 1459 in an exchange got the rights, which earlier belonged to St. Hans Kloster, and Kvortrup (1524 Kworrtvp). Furthermore the mills Kølsen Mølle (1683 Kylsum- Kølsing Mølle) and Vorde Mølle (* 1392 Woræ molnæ).

In the meadow Langvejle (1454 Long Wedell) at Skals Å were found traces of an ancient road with a ford across Skals Å.

In the garden of the western Vordegård northwest of the main house, is a small rise , which is a part of the garden plan; it is the last visible memory of a castle bank, Voldbakken, which was a rectangular bank 25 x 32 m, surrounded by 10 m broad moats. Upon the bank were found monk bricks. The legend says that Rane Jonsen owned this castle.

Listed prehistorics: 19 hills. Rather large is the western hill of the hills Sejershøjene (1683 Sejershøj) close to the south border, the eastern of two Brandhøje (originally a group of 6) north of Navntoft and a hill at the eastern border; also the high placed hill Vorde Bavnehøj (or Galgehøj).
Demolished or destroyed: 96 hills and one longhill; at Kølsen was the passage grave Røverstuen; two other hills contained large stone chambers. - Kitchen middens are known along the fjord south of Hjarbæk and northwest of Vorde. A face urn from Bronze Age origins from Kølsen.

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962.


photo Vorde kirke /Hjarbæk 2007: grethe bachmann