Ørum church/Ørum kirke, Sønderlyng herred, Viborg amt.

Ørum church, ab. 11 km east of Viborg.

Ørum parish, Sønderlyng herred, Viborg amt. 

The lead roofed church in Ørum (Sønderlyng herred) has a choir and nave from the Romanesque period and a later added tower to the west, a porch to the south and a sacristy in the extension of the choir, all additions are tiled. The Romanesque walls are built in granite ashlars upon a bevelled plinth, the walls are best kept on the north side of the choir and the nave and on the south side of the choir, likewise three Romanesque windows on the northside, one in the choir and two in the nave. The two portals are also kept, especially the bricked-up, unusually magnificent north portal with richly profiled kragbånd and with columns with carved birds on the capitals. The south door is straight edged. The Gothic shaped sacristy, which is built upon the place where the apse was built on Romanesque churches, has a square finish to the east. The late Gothic tower has glares upon the east gable. The white washed porch is probably from the Renaissance period. Inside the church is the Romanesque choir arch with kragsten kept, the tower room is cross vaulted and opens towards the nave in a round arch; nave and choir have beamed ceilings. The wallwork of the church was restored in 1885 and 1889.

Upon the large communion table stands a Renaissance altarpiece from ab. 1600-1620 with sidewings, top-piece and a triptychon main field with a biblical painting from the 1700s. The decoration (rest. in 1926) was given by Anders Kjærulf of Sødal (his and his wife's initials and year is seen on the altarpiece.) On the communion table also two altar candelabres, recast in 1753 and paid by Didrik Iversen of Sødal. A Romanesque granite font. A pulpit in Renaissance with carved year 1607, given acc. to inscription by parish priest Christen Jensen (Skive) and Jacob Jørgensen with ionic columns with decoration-bands and a contemporary sounding board. The pews are partly old, a carved year 1634 upon the backside of a stool-gable at the south door. Between nave and porch an old iron bound door wing with a robust locking mechanism.

Vestergård in Vels was in 1514-15 sold by Erik Hvas (of Ormstrup) and his sister Anne to bishop Erik Kaas.  

According to legend was once a castle upon an isolated natural bank a little east of Velds Mølle (mill). There are no traces. Just opposite lies Bårstenhøj (Viskum parish) south of the river valley.

Listed prehistorics: a passage grave at Hulbæk, where were found several pretty axes and chisels and amber pearls; a large hellekiste (stone cist) and 16 hills, of which Storehøj at Hulbæk and the two Månehøje at Velds are very large. 
Demolished or destroyed: a small passage grave, where were found two flint daggers -  and 49 hills. In a hill at Mollerup was a brandgrav( fire grave) from Celtic Iron Age with two silver cups, and in a hill at Velds a grave find from the Viking period with axe and riding gear.

Names from the Middle Ages: Ørum (1413 Ørum); Mollerup (1463 Mollerup); Velds (1461 Weltz, 1524 Welst, Velst, 1574 Vels); Hulbæk (1463 Holbek). 

GB


Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962.


photo: borrowed from Google Earth, gb