Gylling church / Gylling kirke , Hads herred, Aarhus amt.

The large church in Gylling has a Romanesque choir and nave, a late Gothic porch to the south and a stilted tower from the reformation period to the west. The Romanesque building is in granite ashlars upon a bevel plinth, and it has kept both straight edged doors; the south door is in use, while the north door is bricked-up, and a round arched window in the choir gable. The choir arch was extended, probably in the late 1400s, when a crossvault was built in the choir. The nave has a beamed ceiling. In the last half of the 1400s a stately porch was built in two storeys, and the rich and well-proportioned gable points to Jens Iversen Lange's building activity in Århus. The narrow tower has to the west a large open round arch. The tower is probably from the reformation period, or maybe a little later. Two heavy supporting pillars at the choir gable are from recent times. 

the stilted tower

In the choir vault is Jens Iversen Lange's frescoe-painted coat of arms, and a later coat of arms above the choir arch has been referred to Jørgen Barnekow, a vasal at Åkær in 1553-59. The stately altarpiece from 1638 is made by Peder Jensen Kolding. The altar candelabres are from 1655, they are balustershaped, resting upon lion figures, paid and given by Mette Hansdatter. Chasuble from 1726. Behind the altarpiece a relief of the evangelist Johannes with painted year 1645. Altar rails from 1735. A Romanesque granite font in Horsenstype with lions and leaves. A South German baptismal bowl from ab. 1550 with initials and coat of arms of Clauss Gagge and Margrethe Mormann, 1637. A late Gothic choir-arch crucifix, repaired in 1923. A pulpit from 1911, carved by sculptor Rasmus Andersen. A gallery in the west end from 1627. Interesting early Gothic bell from ab. 1300 with majuskel-inscription in Latin: "Fru Cecilia lod mig støbe"( Laurids Trugotsen's daughter, m. to Markvard Rostrup).
In the wall of the porch two Romanesque gravestones, one with the name Helene. Inside the porch two gravestones from the 1600s, one with year of death 1642 above a couple with 13 children ( signed with a hammer and blacksmith's tong and the initials HSGS), and the other a little older, above a couple with ten children. In the choir a gravestone for parish priest Dines Guldberg (+ 1758), Ove Høeg-Guldberg's mother's brother.

Romanesque gravestone in wall of porch.

 In the porch a runestone, which was found in 1839 at a barn in Gylling. The inscription: "Toke Troels' søn rejste denne sten efter - - god - -  og risbiik sin broder". ("Toke Troels' son raised this stone after - - god - - and risbiik his brother.")

The king owned some land in Gylling according to Valdemar's Jordebog. Gylling was among the estate, which Erik Plovpennings daughter's son Erik Valdemarsen got in 1327. At the same time lived hr. Lars Truedsen (Trugotsen) of Gylling. His daughter Cecilie. m. to Markvard Rostrup, let cast the church bell. Their son Godskalk Rostrup owned in 1402 estate in Gylling, in 1404 hr. Jep Kalf conveyed to the Crown his estate in Gylling, which his father hr. Erland Kalf had already sold to the Crown.

Gyllingnæs was among the estate, which hr. Niels Brok in 1330 conveyed to Ring kloster. It was before 1436 by hr. Jep Kalf's widow etc. given to Maribo kloster. In 1578 G. belonged to the Crown, and in 1661 Gylling skov (forest) was laid out to the heirs of Joachim Gersdorff together with Åkær, and it followed this estate until John Smith from Altona bought it in 1801.
Later owners: John Thornton, George Smith, Wilhelm Henrik Fr. Mylord from Holsten, Constantin Brun, A.P.V. Krohn, Chr. Fr. Berg, Frederik Grevenkop-Castenskiold. Owner in 1963: fru E.E. Baner. 

Owners after 1963:
1966-1994: Hermann Zobel, 1994-1996: Peter Zobel, !996 - : Troels Holch Povlsen.

 











Gylling vicarage , built 1720 and 1859, is listed in class B.

Listed prehistorics: a disturbed long dolmen in Gyyllingnæs skov.
Demolished or destroyed: a passage grave, a dolmen, 3 stone cists and 10 hills.

At Horskær is an undersea  Ertebølle-settlement, at Gylling two Iron Age-settlements.

Names in the Middle Ages: Gylling (1231 Gylling); Lerdrup (1402 Leirdrup, 1534 Lerdrup); Gyllingnæs (1330 Gyllenesz, 1438 Gyllingsnes).

Source: Trap Danmark,Århus amt, 1963.

photo Gylling 2003: grethe bachmann