Fævejle, Djursland, Randers amt

Fævejle, ab. 12 km west of Grenå
Lyngby parish, Djurs Sønder herred, Randers amt

Fævejle is mentioned for the first time in written sources during the rule of Erik of Pommern; in 1429 the two væbners (= esquire) Jens Laursen and Henrik Blik gave a deed on a desolate building place in "Fæuedæl" to hr. Otte Nielsen (Rosenkrantz )of Hevringholm, a deed which their wives had inherited from Andreas Eysen. In 1469 a priest Jep Tordsen lived in "Fæwedell". Or else is known nothing from Fævejle except that the farm with its parish church Lyngby before the reformation belonged to Århus Chapter.

The last abbot in Øm Kloster, hr. Jens Simonsen, was - when the kloster was abandoned in 1560 - given Rosmos (Rosmus) parish and had the vicarage, Rugård and a third farm in Rosmos parish, but in 1579 the Crown exchanged this estate, and in order to indemnify hr. Jens they let the priest in Lyngby Albøge change parish with him - so hr. Jens was given Fævejle as a vicarage. However he died the same year. Århus chapter then exchanged in 1580 Fævejle to the Crown which already the following year exchanged it to Iver Juel of Lykkesholm. In 1618 Fævejle was owned by Helvig Rantzau who died the same year in childbirth; she was a daughter of Frantz Rantzau who was killed at Skellinge hede, and she was married to Palle Rosenkrantz of Krenkerup.


In 1621 the farm belonged to fru Kirsten Sandberg, a daughter of Tyge Sandberg of Vedø and married to Gert Bryske of Margård. Fævejle was then owned by her aunt Sophie Jørgensdatter Rostrup, who was married to her paternal uncle Mads Sandberg. When he died in 1632, the farm was given to jomfru (miss) Abel Bryske, Gert Bryske and Kirsten Sandberg's daughter. After her it came back to her mother Kirsten, who died in 1647, since from her estate Fævejle was the following year conveyed to rigsråd hr. Frederik Reedtz of Tygestrup. When he died in 1659, the farm went via inheritance to his son Jørgen Reedtz of Vedø, who was amtmand (prefect) of Tryggevælde Amt and ambassador in Spain, and his son-in-law Erik Hardenberg Gyldenstierne. The two owners sold in 1664 the farm to ex-secretary in the German Kancelli Matheus Rudolphus Reinfranck.

Via his marriage to Karen Rasmusdatter Helkand, a widow after the Icelandic merchant Mikkel Nansen, mayor Hans Nansen's son, Reinfranck achieved considerable means, which gave him the opportunity to buy much spread estate in Djurs Sønder herred. In her first marriage Karen Nansen had the daughters Karen, who in 1670 married Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld, and Sophie, who in 1672 married amtmand of Kalø amt, etatsråd Christian Gersdorff. When only 12 years of age the only child of Reinfranck's marriage Lisbeth Margrethe was in 1663 " "in the presence of many distinguished people" betrothed to a son of king Frederik III's highly trusted kansler Theodor Lente, secretary in the German kanselli Christian Lente, a young careerist, who only had entered into this match in expectation of Griffenfeld's patronage and a rich dowry. After the rigskanslers (Griffenfeld's) downfall in 1676 Lente broke ruthless the betrothal in spite of Reinfranck's and his stepson Christian Gersdorff's protest. The case was still not finished in 1679, but was given up when Reinfranck died. The repudiated bride, who was now the heir of Fævejle, married in 1685 the priest of the parish church, Frederik Thomsen Lyngbye.


In 1681 she sold Fævejle to Iver Juul Høg who the same year from Bjørnholm, Lykkesholm and Fævejle founded the barony Høgholm, which after his widow fru Helle Trolle's death in 1722 went to grev Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe (+ 1728). His son, grev Frederik Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe transferred in 1753 the barony to overhofmarskal ( =Lord Chamberlain) grev Adam Gottlob Moltke, who abandoned and sold it the next year.

Fævejle belonged under Høgholm until 1802, when generalløjtnant Frederik Sehested's widow Pauline Fabritius-Tengnagel in an auction sold the farm to lesee Knud Høyer. After his death in 1821 Fævejle was bought in an auction by P.J.Møller, the later owner of Constantinsborg, and he conveyed it to the owners of Lykkesholm P.Achton and Peter Mørk Mønsted, who the same year shared the two estates, and Mønsted then got Fævejle. After his death in 1864 his widow handed over the farm to the son N.J.A. Mønsted for 39.000 rigsbankdaler. He built the present main building, a red-brick villa in one storey. In 1918 the son Peter Mørk Mønsted took over Fævejle, which he in 1945 transferred to his son Ivar Brorson Mønsted. Today Fævejle is a common agriculture farm. The old half-timbered farm-buldings still exist.

Source: Danske slotte og herregårde, bd. 14, Djursland, Fævejle by dr. phil. Louis Bobé, 1967.


photo March 2009: grethe bachmann