Skibet church/Skibet kirke and Haraldskær, Vejle amt.

Skibet church 2007

Skibet church 2003

The whitewashed church in Skibet has a Romanesque choir and nave with a probably late Gothic western extension, a sacristy at the north side of the choir and a porch to the south. The Romanesque building is in travertine  without any visible plinth. The extended south door is in use, while the round-arched north door is bricked-up. A tympanum, which probably origins from the south door, is excellent designed. It is a flat relief of a lion eating a hare, it is inserted in the bottom of the west gable.

tympanum inserted in wall

Several Romanesque windows have been preserved and partly re-opened, in the choir one to the east and one to the north, in the nave two to the north and one to the south. The round choir arch inside is preserved. The nave has after a restoration in 1951-52 again a beamed ceiling instead of a barrel vault, probably from the 1700s. A cross vault was inserted in the choir in the late Gothic period, and at the north side was built a cross vaulted sacristy, which was later cut down into a half-roof building, which to the east has a window in a point-arched frame. At the same time the nave was extended to the west, but the whole building is so whitewashed that it is not possible to decide  something accurate. A bricked-up point-arched window in the south wall of the nave is probably from the same period like the cernel in the wallwork of the porch. The look of the building is marked by a rebuild in the middle of the 1700s.
 

Skibet church

the horsemen frieze

the horsemen frieze

The building had a restoration in 1951-52. At this occassion were several frescoes found from various periods. Upon the eastern wall of the nave are late Romanesque frescoes, in the round-arched fields are horsemen, in the north window of the choir a foliage from the same time, in the choir vault are late Gothic leaf decorations and a prism decoration around the sacristy door in grey and black. Upon the eastern part of the north wall in the nave and south of the choir arch are undecidable paintings, and in the south side's Gothic window a female saint with a sword. The frescoes were restored in 1954 by E Lind.

See article on Thyra-blog about the frescoes in Skibet church: The Legend of the Grail  

A new or heavily restored communion table in travertine. The altar decoration from 1952 is a wooden cross with a lam in the crown of thorns. The front of the communion table is from 1550. Late Gothic, softly profiled ore candelabres. A Romanesque granite font with lions and leaf decoration of the Sjørslev type, on the foot are bear-heads. A small south German dish ab. 1575 soldered into a large brass dish.Pulpit in Renaissance ab. 1600, with Tuscany corner pillars, rectangular fields and cornices and modern greyish decoration. In the nave two chandeliers, one given by Chr. Linde and wife in 1755, the other by parish bailiff J.P.Sørensen. A threemaster ship-model "Håbet" of newer date. A large painting signed S. Viggo Pedersen 1932. An iron bound door wing 1664 with parish priest Jakob Svendsen's name is now at the National Museum. A bell of cast iron from Bochum in a bell-frame east of the church .

prism decoration above door.

Haraldskær 2007

Haraldskær belonged 1434-48 to Niels Friis, who is said to own H. via his wife Ellen Moltke.  It belonged later to the son hr. Anders Friis (+ ab. 1510), in 1543 the widow Bodil Steenfeld, then the son Iver Friis (+ 1557) and his son rigsråd Albert Friis  (+ 1601). His daughter Karen Friis (+ 1635) married Truid Bryske ( + 1653) who was written of H. until 1621, but at this time his economy broke down, and in 1622 his sister-in- law Lisbeth Friis made an attempt to buy H. "since it was a pretty farm and it had always been her parents' farm". However the Danish Rigsråd judged the farm to belong to her guardian,  the brother-in-law Frederik Munk (Lange), who at the same time came to be liable for another sister, Anne Friis' big debt, and he also ended up with big economic difficulties. Already before his death in 1637 his son Jørgen Munk (Lange) wrote himself of the farm, but he had a feud with his father, and in 1637 the mother Sofie Friis complained to the king about "that he had completely taken over the mentioned farm and estate" and "he had abused her with many improper words". Sofie Friis tried to keep the farm together and bought in 1651 a part from her daughter's son-in-law Claus Sparre. At her death 1655 H. was however divided among several persons. Jørgen Munk had  - because of debt - to give his part to Vincents Bille, who 1616 sold it to Manderup Abildgaard, whose wife Hedvig Arenfeldt the same year bought Jørgen Munk's sister Sofie's 1/6 of the farm. Another sister, Anne Munk, deeded in 1677 the biggest part of H. with 6 farms and houses to colonel Konrad v. d. Brincken of Fårup (+ 1696); the son Godske v. d. Brincken (+ 1730) outbought his siblings from H  (+ 1730), and at an auction after him in 1731 it was sold to major Pierre d'Andischon, who established same factories here. At an auction after him in 1751 H. was bought  by Gerhard de Lichtenberg, who in 1754 deeded Engelsholm, Kjeldkær and H. to his son-in-law Christen Linde, who 1767 sold the 3 farms to his brother-in-law Hans Henrik de Lichtenberg of Bidstrup.

Later owners: Ove Bernhardt v. Lüttichau, Henrik Schmith, Severin Laurentius Lautrup, Johannes Ditlev Rahr, Nicolaj Nyholm, August Theodor Schütte, Danqvart Neergaard, Oluf Henrik de Bang, Hjalmar de Bang, C.M. Hess. 1962  brothers C. and M.Hess. 

The main building is listed in class A.

see article about Haraldskær on this blog:  Haraldskær 

farm building Haraldskær

Kølholt belonged in 1485 to hr. Anders Friis of Haraldskær, in 1622 to his great-grandchild Lisbeth Albertsdatter Friis, who got the king's allowance to give the farm for life to her sister Karen Friis. In 1662 it was a farm under Lerbæk, but before 1697 Nicolaj Nissen of Rugballegård sold it to Søren Joensen, he rebought it in 1704, but in 1718 Søren Joensen's widow Sophie Amalie Bojsen deeded it to baron Christian Gyldenkrone of Vilhelmsborg, who in 1730 sold K. with property to the Crown. Since Sophie Amalie Bojsen had reserved the repurchase, the king had to renounce it in 1733 to her son Nicolaj Joensen. The Crown had now purchase on it and could in 1738 at an auction sell it to Gerhard de Lichtenberg, who 1748 sold it to Niels Thomsen (+ 1763).
Later owners: Chr. Hansen from Århus, Ernst Braat, Jes Hansen af Skølvad, Mads Joh. Buch, J.G. Schwartz, P.U.F. Schiøtt, Chr. Hansted, P.I.W. Schandorff, C.J.Linde, Luplau, P. Lorenzen, Schlesinger, Mar. Andersen, S. Jacobsen, grev Helge Ernst Knuth, N. Jørgensen, C.J. Fynbo, Lottrup, owner in 1962: S.A. Petersen.
 The main building is a pretty small halftimbered building from the beginning of the 1700s.   

Niels Friis of Haraldskær wrote himself in 1432 of Skibet. Anne Munk, later of Haraldskær wrote herself 1651 of Knabberup, in 1687 fru Birgitte Arenfeldt deeded her farm K. to Conrad v. d. Brincken of Haraldskær.     
Kærsgård belonged in 1469 to Lars Jonsen (Panter) (+ 1340) and was probably later under Kjeldkær where the part-owners hr Joachim Hardenberg (1469) Claus Bryske (1483 and 1485) and Ebbe Strangesen (1500) owned K. Later it belonged to Niels Friis of Haraldskær (+ 1557).

Vejle Å (river) at Haraldskær

Vejle å ( the river) was earlier navigable all the way up to Skibet where it is said there was a harbour for small  vessels. 

A sacred spring Haraldskær Kilde was situated between the main manor and the factory close to the river.

At Trædballe, close to the border of Vejle city, was once a castle bank, probably origining from the above mentioned Kærsgaard. In the priest report from 1638 a locality "Rodzkier" is mentioned, later called Borgvold. Sofiesminde skov (forest) west of Borgvold has also the earlier name Kærsgaards skov. The castle bank was demolished at the building of the railway, which is now closed. A suburb of Vejle has spread across the castle bank and there are no visible traces.

In the priest report of 1638 the castle bank Boeldal in Vilstrup skov (forest) is mentioned. The place is called Bommerhave in Pont. Atlas "Bommergaard". The place is shown in the northern edge of Vilstrup skov south of Gulgaard. There are no traces of fortifications, the castle bank might have been destroyed by clay-digging, but there are monk bricks at the spot.

The farm-building Ravnsbøl, which is mentioned under Haraldskær, was established from a disappeared village Ravnsbøl (1485 Rawenssbøl), which land in the 1600s were laid under Haraldskær. At Haraldskær was also a farm Glasbjerg (1513 Glarberig, 1664 Glaszbierg), which consisted of two bol (small farms). They were laid under Haraldskær in 1744 and the buildings were broken down. A farm Hyllund is also mentioned in the parish in the year 1683.


Listed prehistorics: a large but somewwhat down-digged hill Haraldshøj west of Jennum.
Demolished or destroyed: a passage grave at Haraldskær mark (field) and a hill at Jennum. In priest reports from 1638 are mentioned round dolmens at Knabberup mark, east of Haraldskær and north of Skibet church, but their place is not known.

In a moor at Haraldskær was in 1835 found a bog mummy of a woman with hairnet and leather cape. There was at that time an opinion that this was the Norwegian queen Gunhild, but today's examinations have proved the age. The bog mummy  is from  490 BC = in the beginning of Iron Age. She is now at a museum. Upon Holmen in the river valley was a settlement from Stone Age.


Names from the Middle Ages and the 1600s:
Skibet (ab. 1330 Skipwith); Jennum (1478 Jennwm, 1480 Jenum); Knabberup (1488 Knabdrup, 1502 Knabdrvp); Trædballe (1664 Thredballehuus); Slelde (1475 Slælllæ, Slælle, 1552 Slelde); Nørre Vilstrup (1459 Wilstorp, 1524 Wilstorp thet Nørre); Rue (1452 Rweholm, 1664 Rue); Haraldskær (1434 Harildkerr, 1448 Harilsker); Kvakmølle (1664 Quach Mølle), Neder Knabberupgård (1664 Neder Knaberup); Over Knabberupgård, (1664 Offuer Knaberup); Kølholt (1485 Kiølholdt); Østengård (1502 Østengaard.)


Source: Trap Danmark, Vejle amt, 1964.  

photo 2003/2007/2008/2009: grethe bachmann