Uth church / Uth kirke and Boller, Bjerre herred, Vejle amt.

Uth church, Bjerre herred, Vejle amt, ab. 5 km south of Horsens

The large church, which has replaced a granite ashlar building from  Roman time, is mostly built 1575-77, but this uniqe Renaissance building was in 1869 recreated into a neo-Romanesque basilika -a very regretful loss.

The Renaissance church from 1575-77 , built by fru Karen Gyldenstierne after her husband's death, was shaped as a three-naved, rectangular, longhouse with round-arched vaults in the mid-nave and point arched in the side-naves, all under one roof. Here was a western tower and a burial chapel to the south.  In 1869 was this building reshaped into a three-naved neo-Romanesque basilika with beamed ceiling in the mid-nave and grat-vaults in the side-naves. The walls of the mid-nave were enheightened and had double round-arched windows, in the eastern gable a high-placed circular window.

The tower had a high pyramid roof, and the main entrance was placed at its west-side. Above the portal is a granite thympanum with the image of a tree of life. It probably origins from the Romanesque granite ashlar church.  The chapel has kept the character of the Renaissance building. Upon the eastern gable of the nave are the initials of  Karen Gyldenstierne and upon the tower the initials of Erh. Wedel-Friis and wife and the year 1773.

The altar piece is a Lutheran triptychon in early Renaissance; it was given in 1577 by Karen Gyldenstierne and repaired in 1724 by count Reventlow. The large ore candelabres from 1594 have the coat of arms and initials of Otto Christoffer Rosenkrantz and Gisele Podebusk. A pretty Romanesque granite font of Horsens-type with lions and palmettes.Baptismal bowl of Netherland -type from 1622. Pulpit from 1793, a simple work in provinciel Baroque. Bell 1868 by Stallknecht, Horsens.

Old house in Uth

The chapel is divided from the church by an iron grating. In the wall is a strange epitaph with horisontal stones for Holger Ottosen Rosenkrantz of Boller and Rosenvold, vasal at Skanderborg and Bygholm (+ 1575), Mette Krognos (+ 1568) and Karen Gyldenstierne. Next to the warrior between two wives are the figures of two small girls, Margrete and Ellen. Upon the wall a painted oil portrait from 1578 of Holger Rosenkrantz and Karen Gyldenstierne with 4 children. Furthermore a marble sarcophagus with the bodies of Jens Kraeg-Juel-Vind of Juellinge (+ 1776), his wife Cathrine, née Gram (+ 1810) and Cathrine W. Juel, née Wedell-Jarlsberg, (+ 1786) In the tower room a gravestone for jomfru Margrete, Holger Rosenkrantz' daughter ( + 1551), a trapeze-shaped stone with 2 coat of arms. Also for Jens Nielsen, Boller Mill ( + 1698) and wife. A gravestone for Otto Holgersen Rosenkrantz (+ 1525) was originally in Lübeck, but was moved to Uth and finally to Hornslet church, Randers amt. In the choir a memory-tablet for officers from the battle at Heide in Ditmarsken 13 June 1559 and a frescoe-painted coat of arms for Holger Rosenkrantz and Karen Gyldenstierne and year 1575. In the church are buried rigsråd Holger Rosenkrantz (+1575) and the nobleman Otte Christofffer Rosenkrantz (+ 1621).

Boller (Castle) belonged 1350 to Otte Limbek, later to hr. Mogens Munk (Bjælke-Munk), after whose death in 1410 queen Margrethe was accused of having taken his possessions in Bygholm and Boller; in 1435 was delclaired that the queen had given his brother hr. Stig Munk back a large part. B. belonged in 1461 to Mogens Munk's daughter Anne Munk (+ ab. 1462), married to rigsråd hr. Henrik Knudsen Gyldenstierne ( + 1456), whose son-in-law hr. Erik OttesenRosenkrantz ( + 1503) from before 1483 owned the farm. (1477 was væbner Jes Ulf bailiff at B). Already in 1494 he laid out the farm as heritage  to his son Holger Eriksen Rosenkrantz, and after his death in 1496 to his children in 1499. Among these died  Holger Rosenkrantz childless in 1534, while hr. Otte Rosenkrantz (+ 1525) left several children, who in 1542 outbought their father's brother-in-law hr. Christian Friis (of Haraldskær),of Krastrup and hr. Axel Brahe of Kragholm. Rigsmarsk hr. Holger Rosenkrantz (+ 1575) became the sole owner, and he and his widow Karen Gyldenstierne (+ 1613) rounded off the estate by exchanges with the Crown. In 1592 was B. taken over by the son Otte Christoffer Rosenkrantz run into a large debt, why the heirs soon after his death in 1621 sold B. and Rosenvold to fru Ellen Marsvin.

Chr. IV had possibly lent her the money, since he in 1630 could force her to give the farm to her daughter, the king's wife Kirstine Munk, who fell into disfavour and was allowed to live at B. in the future, almost as a prisoner.After her death in 1658 at B. the heirs had to give up the farm because of some debt to Mogens Friis of Favrskov, who in 1672 established the county Frijsenborg. B. followed this county as an "allodial" estate until 1844. The county was abandoned in 1920, and at the death of lensgreve, Mogens Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs in 1923 was B. inherited by the daughter, komtesse Agnes Louise Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs, married to lensgreve Erik Bernstorff Gyldensteen of Gyldensteen. She sold the estate in 1930, which was Boller, Christiansminde and later lesser tenant-farms and 1384 ha forest to the State. Main building and park were sold to the sick-benefit associations in Skanderborg, Horsens and Kolding, and they established B. as a resting home. 

By the moat

The main building lies upon a large rectangular castle bank upon a flat coast- plain towards Horsens fjord. It is surrounded by waterfilled moats. The plan, which is mostly from the 1500s, is strongly marked by rebuild and reduction and has lost all its outer splendour ; it is now dressed in a simple suit from the 1700s. The northern house of the 4 houses is the oldest, undoubtedly built by Holger Rosenkrantz shortly after he came to stay at Boller in 1548. In 1551 he became the sole owner.In the middle of the bottom floor is preserved a magnificent overvaulted hall with cross-rib vaults upon pillars of early medieval origin, probably from a demolished church. Upon the facade of the east wing is a very pretty sandstone tablet with the coat of arms of Rosenkrantz-Gyldenstierne. Upon the wall in the yard-area is placed an early medieval gravestone for Peder Gødesen Pot. In 1759 and some years ahead let lensgreve Chr. Friis the whole plan have a thorough rebuild and modernizing. The inside was splendidly furnished, and in 1769 was a memorial tablet therefore inserted above the south-wing's main portal by lensgreve Erh. Wedel-Friis. The main buiklding is listed in class A.

The old oak

In the rose garden

In the large park are many old trees. The big lime tree, under which was set a table for 180 people during Chr. VIII's visit, blew down in the Christmas storm in 1902. At Boller was established the first fasaneri (pheasant farm ) in Denmark. A large avenue of  lime trees leads to the motor road  - and from 8 avenues went some of them down to Horsens fjord. According to Pontoppidan's Atlas was a now disappeared arbour in the forest.

Sejet was earlier a parish with church. In 1574 Holger Rosenkrantz had a deed on the church with church yard and land and with allowance to demolish the church and use the material to improve Uth church to which Sejet parish was moved. A memorial stone is raised at the demolished church's place in 1962.

Listed prehistorics: Upon Sejet mark (field) a partly collapsed dolmen chamber and 9 hills, of which 8 in Boller's forest.
Demolished or destroyed: 13 hills.  

Kitchen middens are known from Boller Nederskov and an Iron Age settlement in Klokkedalen.

Names from the Middle Ages: Uth (1492 Voed, 1495 Wodh); Sejet (1416 or 1418 Sede, 1511 Seydt); Neder Ustrup (1477 Wrstrop, 1556 Udstrup); Boller (1350 Boluer, 1435 Boluer, 1442 Boller).

Source: Trap Danmark, Vejle amt, 1964.