Feldballe church / Feldballe kirke and Møllerup, Djurs Sønder herred, Randers amt.

Feldballe Church, ab. 10 km north of Ebeltoft
Feldballe sogn, Djurs Sønder herred, Randers amt.

The walls in Møllerup's parish church in Feldballe - which was built in the first half of the 13th century - was very alike the preserved wall work in Møllerup - the same long narrow monk bricks ,which belong to the late Romanesque period, were used in both places. The uncovered walls at Møllerup might belong to a the castle where marsk Stig met fru Ingeborg according to the old folk song. The choir and the nave are built in Romanesque monk bricks and some original windows are preserved. The small western tower and the two storeyes high porch - also in monk bricks -are later additions. The inside had a flat ceiling but during a restoration in 1962 it was changed into a beamed ceiling with painted fields, dating from original decorations from ab. 1700.


Feldballe, vicarage

A frescoe of St. Jørgen (St. George) and the dragon from ab. 1500 were brought to light on the south wall of the choir and upon the triumph wall are two rows of frescoe painted coat of arms. The altar piece is Renaissance from 1607 given by Hartvig Kaas of Møllerup and wife Anne Juul, remade in 1709. At each side of the altar piece is a Baroque portal with coat of arms of Rosenkrantz, Gyldenstjerne and Schack leading to a burial vault which Elisabeth Rosenkrantz of Møllerup(+1721) let establish for herself and her two husbands, Knud Gyldenstierne and Joachim Schack. The walls of the room are decorated with oak wood epitaphs. The names of Harvig Kaas and Anne Juul and the year 1612 are seen at the foot of the large altar candelabre with the coat of arms and initials from 1617 of Predbjørn Gyldenstierne and Hilleborg Bille. A Romanesque granite font with rope ornaments. A Nürnberg baptismal bowl. the pulpit in Renaissance is like the altar piece given by Hartvig Kaas and Anne Juul from ab. 1700. The bell without insctiption is from the first period of the church. Church ship "Frem" from ca. 1908. Many grave memorials.

The vicarage is listed in class B; it was originally built in the first half of the 1500s, but rebuilt and with additions from 1688, 1760 and later.

Møllerup

Møllerup, ab. 10 km north of Ebeltoft

In the big Marsk Stig-vise (folk song) Møllerup is the scene of a meeting between the marsk and his wife. After the regicide in Finderup Lade Marsk Stig rides to Skanderborg where the young hertug Christoffer (the king's son) cries to him, that he has to flee the country if Christoffer shall wear the crown. The poet goes on saying: marsk Stig rode from Skanderborg to Møllerup to find his beautiful wife Ingeborg, (a daughter of drost Uffe Nielsen Neb).

It is not only the poet's hero 'min ædelige herre, hin unge Marsstig' (my noble master the young marsk Stig) who is connected to Møllerup. A far more prosaic person , hr. Stig Andersen , Danmarks Riges marsk, meets us in documents as the manor's first known owner. Below the present building are the foundations from a castle which might have been built by hr. Stig, but perhaps is even older. The rests of the medieval Møllerup were uncovered in the autumn 1920 during some rebuildings made by godsejer Poul Carl. Partly under the floor in the main building, partly under the pavement in the yard were granite stone foundations and rests of monk brick walls.

The National Museum led in 1920-21 a systematic excavation at the expense of Poul Carl. The main result: the medieval plan had alike the present manor three wings; a south main wing and two short side wings. The eastern wing is the best preserved part, rests of all four walls are still below earth showing that it was a free-standing building. Several parts of the south wing's foundations have disappeared but the leftovers show a picture of its size. In the cellar a part of the south wall's boulder foundations is seen. Rests of a short west wing were uncovered too.


Marsk Stig's island, Hjelm

Stig Andersen (Hvide) was one of the most important magnates in the country and owned much estate. In Jutland he had besides Møllerup also Bjørnholm (now Høgholm) and the island Hjelm, at Funen Eskebjerg (now Scheelenborg) and at Zealand Tygestrup (now Kongsdal). In 1275 he was rigens marsk and the chief in a war-expedition to Sweden. He joined the opponents of king Erik Klipping and was outlawed in 1286 after the regicide in Finderup Lade, although he proved his alibi. In 1290 he built a castle at Hjelm where he died in 1293. He was married three times, his second wife was Ingeborg Palnesdatter Little (of the Hvide-family).

In the agreement at Hindsgavl in 1295 king Erik Menved had to give back the confiscated estate to the outlaws and their heirs. Marsk Stig's son, hr. Anders Stigsen, became the owner of Møllerup, Bjørnholm etc. In 1304 he confirmed a letter which his father had issued in 1287, in which he secured the canons of Århus their estate at the Skramsholm area. In 1313 he joined the peasant revolt, but after it had been calmed down , he had to go into exile in Sweden and his estate was confiscated. First after Christoffer II's accession to the throne he returned according to the decisions of the coronation charter.

His son, Stig Andersen, the younger Marsk Stig, inherited Møllerup, Bjørnholm and Tygestrup. He played a prominent part in Holstenervælden (the power of the counts of Holstein) and Valdemar Atterdag's period. Valdemar Atterdag made him rigets marsk and gave him the important job to lead the assignment of Estonia to sværdridderne (the Livonian Brothers of the Sword) - and in 1352 he was one of four rigsforstandere (regents) in the absent of the king. But when Valdemar took five parishes in Galten district from him and dedicated to the Crown he broke with the king and was the rest of his life one of the leaders of the rebellious Jutland magnates.

When his son Ove (Offe) Stigsen was killed together with Niels Bugge of Hald in Middelfart in 1359, Møllerup and Bjørnholm came after his death in 1369 to his grandson Anders Ovesen (Offesen), who became the last male of marsk Stig's family on Møllerup ( a daughter Margrethe Andersdatter Hvide was married to Jakim Bjørnsen of Stensgård). Anders Ovesen lived more peacefully than his parents and died before 1426. This year his widow fru Else Holgersdatter Krognos was married to rigshofmester hr. Otte Nielsen Rosenkrantz, to whom she brought Bjørnholm. Møllerup went to another daughter of Anders Ovesen, namely Inger Andersdatter Hvide, who was married to rigsråd hr. Jacob (Joakim) Hermansen Flemming (d. 1457). The son Anders Jacobsen Flemming left the manor to his daughter Inger, who still lived in 1525 as a widow after Oluf Jensen Skovgård.


Møllerup, the stables

In 1592 Møllerup was inherited by the brothers Herman Kaas ( + ab. 1612) and Hartvig Kaas, who died childless in 1625. Herman Kaas' children inherited parts of Møllerup, but in 1616 Møllerup was mainly owned by Anna Kaas' husband Hartvig Bille of Damsgård (+1649). Through marriage and inheritance Møllerup had several owners during the next two hundred centuries.

Ship Owner Poul Carl bought Møllerup in 1920 and was the establisher of the big restoration together with the National Museum. His widow, the wellknown horse breeder, fru Kiss Carl, had for a long period a horse stud farm at Møllerup, after her death it was taken over by her daughter's son Flemming Lüttichau. - The main building is listed in class B.

At Møllerup Gods is today a hotel and a restaurant "Hubertuskroen".
there is public access to the park all day and to the stables in the afternoon.

Upon a parcel of Hedegård and Troldhus was excavated a teglovn (tile kiln) from the 1200s by the National Museum, here were probably burnt bricks to the church and the oldest Møllerup.

In the parish is earlier mentioned Toft Skovhus (1688 Toft Schouhuus) and the mills Tovmølle (1688 Tauf Mølle), Askemølle (1496 Aske mølle) and Øjemølle (1468 Øye mølle), possibly situated by Øjesø.

Names in the Middle Ages: Feldballe (* ab. 1220 Fellæbalg); Tåstrup (* ab. 1220 Tostorp); Skårup (* 1492 Skordrup); Kejlstrup (1458 Kædelsrop, 1469 Kegelstrup, Keyelstrup); Essig (1606 Esig, Eysig); Ulstrup (* 1459 Vlstrop); Hedegård ( 160 Hedegaardt); Møllerup (ab. 1350 Mollorp, 1462 Moldrop).

Listed prehistorics: A pretty round dolmen in Tåstrup Plantage, a partly destroyed long dolmen under Tåstrup and a hill.
Demolished or destroyed: A round dolmen, a long dolmen and 13 hills.

An interesting village from Stone Age (dyssetid) was examined at Barkær; two long parallel houses with a paved street in the middle were uncovered; these houses were divided by partitions into a large number of rooms, possibly one for each family; many flint tools and clay pot pieces were found. - At Korupsø were found two belt buckles and 400 bronze pearls from Celtic Iron Age. A grave from early Roman period at Kejlstrup contained a bronze bowl and mountings for two drinking horns.

Source: Danske slotte og herregårde, Djursland, bd. 14; Trap Danmark, Randers amt, 1963.
Jytte Ortmann: Slotte og herregårde i Danmark.

photo 2003/ 2007: grethe bachmann