Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sdr. Vinge Church & Ulstrup Slot, Mid Jutland, Viborg amt.


Sønder Vinge church, ab. 18 km southwest of Randers
Sønder Vinge sogn, Middelsom herred ,Viborg amt.

Romanesque relief with two lions and a cross

The high-placed church in Sønder Vinge has a Romanesque choir and nave in granite ashlars, a large addition to the north and a porch at the west gable. In the north wall is above the plinth a Romanesque relief, two lions and a cross. A Romanesque window is preserved in the east wall of the choir. The northern addition with a hip roof is like the porch built in the end of the 1700s in granite ashlars; it is said that they were from the demolished church in Torup in 1777. In the south wall of the porch is placed two Romanesque window cover stones. Upon the west gable of the nave is a rytterspir (spire: see photo); the walls of the church are restored and partly rebuilt in 1872. Inside are beamed ceilings and the choir arch is preserved with heavy Romanesque kragsten.

The altar piece is an inscription-field in a Baroque frame and like the pulpit from the middle of the 1700s. Upon a newer organ gallery in the west end of the nave is placed the coat of arms of the family Scheel. A large Romanesque granite font with a smooth basin.

A runestone which was found as a corner stone in the church wall is now in the porch, it is a large stone, with inscription: -- rejste denne sten efter sine to brødre Urøke og Kade--sårede og øvede sejd. En "ræte" den mand som øder dette minde. ( put up this stone after his two brothers Urøde and Kade -- wounded and made magic. The man who destroys this memory will become a "ræte".) The excact mening of the word ræte is not known, but it was a warning, and the same warning words are written at the famous Glavendrup sten.

Ulstrup Slot


Ulstrup Slot, Sønder Vinge sogn, Middelsom herred,
Viborg amt.

Ulstrup belonged in the end of the 1300s to Jens Brandsen, then his children Mette and Jens Brandsen, who pawned and in 1404 sold it to hr. Niels Jensen (Løvenbalk) of Aunsbjerg, who in 1406 sold it to queen Margrethe. In 1579 the Crown exchanged Ulstrup (then a village of 3 farms) to rigsråd Christen Skeel of Hegnet, he founded the main farm/manor Ulstrup, which at his death in 1595 together with Hegnet came to the youngest son rigsmarsk Jørgen Skeel(+ 1665), then to his widow Jytte Brok (+ 1640), the son gehejmeråd Christen Skeel(+ 1688), his son kammerjunker Jørgen Skeel(+ 1695), his widow Benedicte Margrethe von Brockdorff (+ 1793), her son colonel, kammerherre Christen Skeel (+ 1731), his widow Augusta von Winterfeldt (+ 1740) and their son gehejmeråd grev Jørgen Scheel (+ 1786). Various owners: Scheel, de Bourienne, Koch, Mourier-Pedersen, Knuth etc.



The main building is listed in class A. Ulstrup's portal is one of Denmark's most magnifique sandstone portals. Today is is replaced by a cement cast, the original portal is kept in the cellar at Ulstrup. Scheel's coat of arms with two lions and an inscription tablet with the year 1617 is flanked by the coat of arms of his two wives. The portal was made by the stone mason Claus Lauritzen who at the same time worked as hofkunstner (worked for the royal house) at Koldinghus. The Ulstrup-portal is flanked by two warriors, who according to tradition are the evil grev Gert in Asian clothes and the hero Niels Ebbesen in European clothes. But they are actually two Roman war heroes, who symbollically with sword and spear defend the entrance to Ulstrup in a time where the fortifications of the manors were replaced by the splendour of the Renaissance.


Ulstrup, landscape, December

Names in the Middle Ages: Vinge (1349 Wingy, * 1491 Synder Winge); Ulstrup (* 1401 Vlstrup, 1404 Wlstrop).

In the parish was a village Vingetorp (1449 Wingæthorp). Furthermore the farms Højlund (1532 Høffwelundh), Røngeholm (1664 Røngiholmb) or Holmshus (1683 Holms Huus) and Vingegård (1594 Vingegaard).

Listed prehistorics: 3 small hills in Ulstrup skov.
Demolished or destroyed: 6 hills.

Besides the runestone in Sdr. Vinge Church is another runestone ("Grøndalsstenen"), which was found at Ulstrup mark. It is the earliest mentioned runestone and a legend is connected to it. It is now placed upon a lawn south of the main building. The inscription is: -- rejste -- efter sine "skippere" Thire og Thue. (-- raised/put up -- after his "captains" Thire and Thue. )

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962, Niels Peter Stilling, Danmarks slotte og herregårde, 1998.


photo Sdr. Vinge/Ulstrup 2006: grethe bachmann

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