Øster Snede church/ Øster Snede kirke, Nørvang herred, Vejle amt.

Øster Snede church, ab. 10 km northeast of Vejle.(Google Earth) 

Øster Snede kirke
The large church in Øster Snede has a Romanesque choir and nave with late Gothic additions, a cross arm to the south, a tower to the west and a porch to the south. The Romanesaue building is in granite ashlars upon a bevelled plinth. Some conditions indicate that the choir from the beginning had an apse, but it is not quite certain. Both original doors are kept, the round arched south door is in use, the north door with a round arch decoration is bricked-up. Some of the Romanesque windows (round arched( are traceabke like on the north side of the choir. The Romanesque walls are outside mostly re-bricked. Their upper sections and the western gable of the choir are re-bricked with small bricks and now whitewashed. The round choir arch stands inside with profiled kragsten. The choir arch is flanked by round arched side altar niches. In the Gothic period, probably ab. 1375-1400, the choir got a cross vault with profiled ribs, and about a century later four cross vaults were built in the nave (in East Jutland type) upon protruding wall pillars. At this occassion the west gable was re-bricked with monk bricks and had a decoration of five point arched high glares, which are partly kept behind the tower.

The following rebuild seems to be the building of the cross arm at the south side of the nave. It is built in monk bricks and re-used ashlars, which probably origin from a demolished church, since there in the ashlar material is a window monolite, which does not respond to the Romanesque windows of the church. The room, which opens towards the nave in a pointed arcade, has a star vault, and in the west wall is a point arched frieze in the height of a man. The upper section is like choir and nave rebuilt with small bricks.  The tower, which cross vaulted bottom room opens towards the nave in a round arch in the full broadth of the tower room, was built in the Reformation period. To the north side of this is a free staircase up to a round arched upper door. The smooth gables with visible foot timber turn west- east. The south side is at the top rebuilt with small bricks. The porch, which is also from the Reformation period, has above the flat round arched door a savskifte (bevelled bricks) and two circular glares, and it is flanked by small peepholes. The building was restored in 1935.

Øster Snede church

Interior: A strange late Gothic frescoe of a warrior with a huge mane, maybe Samson or Holger Danske - was brought to light in 1926 and restored in 1935. Upon the choir arch an inauguration cross. The communion table is covered in a panelwork from ab. 1590 with portalfields. The altarpiece is a late Gothic triptychon with the original apostle figures in fhe wings. It was re-shaped in the Renaissance, probably 1606, but was restored in 1935 and got a new crucifixion group in the mid field, made by S. Forchhammer. The painted foot piece from the Renaissance-change with a painting hangs in the church and upon the backside of the piece is places an unusually bad altar painting from 1846 by painter Lindegaard, Horsens. The altar chalice ab. 1650, given by Jørgen Juul and Ellen Arenfeldt. A bread box, given by Frederikke Hedwig Dorothea v. Buchwaldt. Late Gothic candelabres upon sitting lions. A good late Gothic choir arch crucifix from the middle of the 1400s. A Romanesque granite font with double lions. A dish from 1648 with the same coat of arms as upon the pulpit, which is a simple Renaissance work with Tuscany corner columns, dated 1641, and with the paternal and maternal coat of arms of Jørgen Juul and Ellen Arenfeldt. A contemporary sounding board. A klingpung (collection purse on a stick) from the end of the 1700s. In the cross arm an ore chandelier given by parish priest Matthias Selmer (+ 1738). A bell from the beginning of 1800s, cast by Daniel Reimer, Randers with reliefs of Oldenburg kings.

In a bricked chamber in front of the choir arch was (in an excavation for a heating system) found a lead plate from the coffin of Pernille Mouridsdatter. In the porch a worn out gravestone from the 1700s.
In the church dike to the south is a large portal in ashlars and monk bricks with a round arched driving gateway and a flat curved gate, probably late Gothic.

Agersbøl
 - was originally a village, where rigshofmester hr. Mogens Gøye got 1 farm with his first wife Mette Albrechtsdatter Bydelsbak (+ 1513), who had got it after her mother Pernille Axelsdatter Brock. 4 farms at the same place was deeded by Stefan v. Bülow's widow Margrethe in 1528 to Mogens Gøye, whose daughter's daughter Margrethe Justdatter Høeg (Banner), widow after Chr. Quitzow, in 1595 is written of A., which in 1630 belonged to her brother's son Just Høeg (Banner) of Bjørnholm. From him it came in 1638 to Jørgen Juul of Låge, who in 1666 was divorced from his wife Ellen Hansdatter Arenfeldt (+ 1676). In an agreement she got A., but after her death the farm had to be shared by the heirs of both parts.Her heirs deeded in 1676 their part to Laurids Brorson of Dybvad, who later outbought Jørgen Juul's heirs. In 1681 A. was deeded to oberstløjtnant Kai de la Marc (+ 1713), whose son oberstløjtnant Hieronymus de la Marc (+ 1727) became the owner. In an auction after him in 1728 it was bought by Jørgen Jørgensen's widow Pernille (+ 1750), whose son Mourids Jørgensen owned it until his death 1753.

Later owners: Poul Marcussen of Ørumgård, the family Marcussen until ab. 1801, Erik Chr. Grave Hoppe of Lillerup; John Schmidt of Gyllingnæs; Johannes Peter Ingwersen of Viufgård; family Ingwersen; H.Hastrup; M.F.C.Zahn, Kolding; Juan A. Rothaus; Konsortium; Raun and Albertsen; C.I.Petersen; Jysk Landhypothekforening; Andreas Jensen; A. Svendsen and J. Marcussen; some out parcelling;  main parcel to direktør Malte Vestergaard. 1931- 1970: William Jensen. From 1970 : Knud Bøgh Bisgaard.



The earlier main building had acc. to Pont Atlas a marvellous tower and a high spire, and there was a church by the manor , but the building was wall and timber, and it was probably demolished in 1739 or 1746 by fru Pernille Jørgensen, who built a new three-winged timbered main buiilding, which stood until 1845. The same year Martin Ingwersen built the present main building, a bricked whitewashed building with a long low one storey main wing, at each end is a short house across in two storeys with stepped gables. In 1883 was built in the middle a square sided tower and a high pointed slated roof.

Agersbøl, photo wikipedia.

Claus Jensen (Dyre) lived in 1459 in Sole; Svend Torbernsen (Udsen) wrote himself in 1468 of Soleskovgård. 


Laurids Mund is in 1652 written of Krollerupgård.


Madevig (1638 Mayvig) was in 1660 the name of some demolished houses, which land was laid under Agersbøl.



In a cleaning up of the pavement in the yard of Øster Snede vicarage were in 1905 found various silver ware and a stoneware jar with 35 little coins, the earliest from 1645.

There are no listed prehistorics in the parish, but there were 12 hills, among those the large Brohøj at Agersbøl, which had a mill, and a large hill at Øster Snede, where according to the legend king Sniø is buried. Two hills at Agersbøl contained graves from early Roman Iron Age; one contained a buckle with a silver mask.

From Rosenkær at Båstrup origin a belt plate, 2 necklaces and a gold pin,  and from Soleskov two massive bronze rings - everything from late Bronze Age.

Names from the Middle Ages and 1600s:  Øster Snede (ab. 1330 Sneeth, 1688 Øster Snee); Kragelund (1409 Kragelund); Gammelsole (1459 Solæ, 1495 Sole); Krollerup (1499 Krollerop; 1500 Krollerup); Bøgballe (1460 Bøgbaly); Båstrup (1409, 1469 Bostrop); Soleskov (1468 Soliskowgardh); Agersbøl (1528 Agitzbølle); Gøgemølle (1683 Giøgemølle).

Source: Trap Danmark, Vejle amt 1964   


photo: Google Earth and Wikipedia.