Klovborg church/Klovborg kirke, Vrads herred, Skanderborg amt.

The church in Klovborg has an undivided longhouse with apse to the east, tower to the west and porch to the south. The western part of the longhouse is the nave from a Romanesque church, built in granite ashlars upon a plinth with a bevel edge. A window to the south and two to the north are bricked. The south door is outside, the north door is bricked and partly destroyed by a newer window.  The western tower was added in the late Middle Ages, it is built in granite ashlars and monk bricks, its vaulted bottom room is connected in a large round arch to the nave, in which are built three bays octagonal rib vaults. In a later rebuild the tower was made lower. In 1591 rigsråd Erik Hardenberg (+ 1604) let the Romanesque choir break down, after which the nave  - where were used old ashlars - was extended towards east, where it was finished in a half round apse in monk bricks. Inserted in the apse wall is a table with Erik Hardenberg's and fru Anne Rønnow's coat of arms in relief. The apse inside has a half cupola vault (half dome), while the eastern extension later has got a plastered barrel vault in planks. From a later period is the porch, built in small bricks and with a plastered wooden barrel vault.The church is partly white-washed (tower, apse and porch) and the roofs are tiled (apse has a leaden roof).   

A new oak communion table (1952) with carved and gilt biblical motifs, made by the sculptor Aksel Theilmann. A three-part altarpiece with biblical paintings by Eileen Hoffman-Bang 1945. The chalice is given in 1706 by Thyge Jespersen and Anne Mikkelsdatter. Altar candelabres from 1936, a pair of candlesticks from 1574 with the initials and coat of arms of Erik Hardenberg and Anne Rønnow were retained at Mattrup (manor) for a long time. A Romanesque granite font with a rope winding under the edge. A baptismal dish in Nürnberg-type (ab. 1550-1600). A brickwork-pulpit, probably from the rebuild of the church in 1591. The pulpit is carried by a bricked pillar and a limestone-plate; it once had frescoe-painted decorations from the Baroque-period, but it was in 1961 decorated with new frescoe-paintings by Ingolf Røjbæk. The gables of the pews are from 1591, the upper pews have the coat of arms of Erik Hardenberg and Anne Rønnow. To the west is a organ gallery. A bell from 1591 with the coat of arms of Erik Hardenberg and Anne Rønnow. 

At the northern wall of the choir is a large epitaph in limestone with portrait figures (5 adults and 4 children) for rigshofmester Ejler Hardenberg (+ 1565), his sons Stygge, Korfits and Erik (with Erik's wife Anne Rønnow and three daughters Karine, Rigborg and Berete) and daughter Kirstine. At the southern wall an epitaph in various marble-colours made by Johs. Wiedewelt for justitsråd Emanuel Thygesen of Mattrup (+ 1764) and with a portrait bust. Under the choir a bricked burial vault with 37 coffins with the families Hardenberg and Thygesen (Thygeson).

Mattrup å river

Tranholm with more than 30 farms was sold to queen Margrethe I in ab. 1406 by rigsråd Johan Skarpenberg. The castle was broken down, and from the estate was established T. vasalry, which Svend Torbernsen (Udsen) in 1467 had from the Crown as a pawn. The pawn was released in 1490 by Erik Stygge (Rosenkrantz), who owned it until his death in 1535, whereafter it went to hr. Ejler Hardenberg (+ 1565) and his son Erik Hardenberg, who in 1573 by exchange with the Crown became the owner of T., which after this followed Mattrup, and from 1670 Væbnersholm (Våbensholm), and in 1688 came to the Crown. The Crown conveyed T. in 1695 to Tyge Jespersen of Mattrup, again in 1721 to Christian Fischer of Allinggård, later of Mattrup.

Peder Mikkelsen sold Flåris to Mikkel Nielsen (Tornekrans);  who in 1455 conveyed it to Christian Jensen. He could in 1462 buy a brotherpart in F. from Terkel Jensen. In 1504 Niels Christensen conveyed a brotherpart to Peder Jensen. In 1560 the Crown exchanged F. to Ejler Hardenberg, and the farm shared fate with above mentioned Tranholm. In 1836 F. was transferred to private ownership.

At Nørskovgård lived Anne Cathrine Ahlefeldt (widow after Corfitz Ulfeld of Mattrup) and her daughters in extreme poverty; Margrethe Ulfeld died in 1713, Anna Margrethe Ulfeld in 1734. At Sønderskovgård lived in 1737 Cecilie Elisabeth Scharffenberg, widow after an oberstløjtnant Zeuerkelles.

Stigsholm lake with islet

Tranholm was placed upon a bank, earlier surrounded by water-filled moats, at Mattrup å. (river) Monk bricks have been found at the bank. Until 1906 was here a farm Tranholmgård, which foundations are still visible.
Upon the small flat islet in Stigsholm sø (lake) was according to legend a castle. There are no immediate . traces.

Skade is mentioned already in 1497 as a vicarage. Skade kirke is probably the same as Klovborg kirke, it is mentioned in 1492.  

In the parish was the farm Ælsgård (1504 Ælsgardh).

Listed prehistorics: 13 hills, one: Storhøj, is in a group of 3 at Rishedegård, it is rather large. In Tranholm plantation lies a group of 4 hills.
Demolished or destroyed:  74 hills.

In Bavnehøj were found two gilt bronze pieces from late Iron Age.

Settlements from Gudenåkulturen are known from Stigsholm and Halle søer (lakes). In Vejle mose (moor) were found a couple of bronze necklaces from late Bronze Age, a couple alike, but thinner, were found at Dalsgård, at Skade were found some early Roman period claypot burials and at Velgårde a burial site from early and late Roman Iron Age.

Names from the Middle Ages and 1600s: 
Klovborg (1. half of 1400s Kloburgh, 1453 Klabwrgh); Gribstrup (1. half of 1400s Grybstorp, 1455 Gripstropp);  Skade (1. half of 1400s Skadet); Nørskov (1576 Nørskof); Flåris (1455 Floriis); Dalsgårde (1688 Dalsgaard); Tranholm (1. half of 1400s Traneholm gardh, 1455 Tranholm); Velgårde (1573 Velgaard); Tirsvad (1. half of 1400s Tiiswath); Malund (1455 Madelund, 1458 Lille Matheklund, Store Madelund).

Source: Trap Danmark, Skanderborg amt, 1964.   


photo 2002: grethe bachmann

     

Føvling church/Føvling kirke, Tyrsting herred, Skanderborg amt.

The secluded church in Føvling parish has a choir and nave from Romanesque period with a late Gothic tower to the west and a porch to the south. The Romanesque building is in travertine, hardpan  and raw granite boulder upon a vaguely marked plinth. The plan is strange, since the choir is only a little more narrow than the nave. Besides the smooth, round choir arch no Romanesque details are kept, since the building in the high Gothic period ab. 1400, was somewhat rebuilt. At this point the west gable was rebuilt in monk bricks and had a glare decoration with three round-arched high glares, while the choir gable had five point-arched high glares , now a little down-cut with smooth roof lines. Ab. 1475 was in the nave built two bays, and in the choir one bay octagonal cross vaults, and large point-arched windows were inserted to the south. A tower waas added to the west, which bottom room opens to the nave in a broad, vaugely pointed tower arch. A ladder at the north wall leads up to a flatcurved door in the middle storey. The upper section and most of the southside of the tower was rewalled in 1856, when it got smooth stepped gables north-south. It was earlier completed by a wooden spire of unknown age. The southside of the porch contains old, and probably late Gothic wallwork, but it was rebuilt in the 1800s with a new glare gable.At the choir gable is placed a couple of heavy supporting pillars.  The roofworks are rebuilt, they contain much old timber.

The vaults of the nave and the choir have a light frescoe decoration from the building-start with trifoils and lilies. The altarpiece is a simple joinery in Renaissance from the beginning of the 1600s. Its colours have been etched off and the paintings from ab. 1950 are by Gudrun Lorenzen. On the back of the altarpiece are placed two older paintings, a crucifixion picture from the 1700s and Christ from 1873 by P.A.Lyders. Altar chalice from 1745, heavy neo Gothic candelabres. A Romanesque granite font with three lions of the Tamdrup-type and an angel. The pulpit is a simple joinery from the 1700s with winding pillars in the corners. Behind the communion table are rests of old pew-gables, dated 1571. The bell with the names of the Three Wise Men is carved ab. 1500 by Albertus Pauli.

gravehill near Føvling

A main farm in Føvling belonged in 1432 to Terkel Pedersen (Væbner), in 1466-1504 to his son Peder Terkelsen (Væbner); in an exchange after him in 1510 his son Ove Pedersen (Væbner), got Søndergård in Føvling  etc., while the main farm itself probably went to his brother Terkel Pedersen (Væbner), who in 1532-46 is written of Føvling; his son Peder Terkelsen (Væbner )(+ 1587) was the last male of the family, his widow Else Juul had the farm in 1592, and it was now called Væbnersholm.  In 1612 V. belonged to Peder Terkelsens sister's daughter's son Jacob Krabbe of Damsgård, who in 1649 sold it to Elisabeth Daa. It was inherited by her son Cortfitz Ulfeld of Mattrup, whio in 1670 conveyed V. and some estate to his son Jakob Ulfeld of Kærgårdsholm as a payment for his maternal heritage. Jakob Ulfeldt was punished by the king for his treatment of his wife, and at his death in 1688 his estate among this V. went to the king. In 1694 V. was laid out as ryttergods (military) and was inhabited by 2 peasants. When the rytterdistricts in Skanderborg were abandoned in 1767, a main farm, Våbensholm, was established from V. , it was in 1768 sold together with Nedenskov-Vilholt, and it was in 1798 incorporated in the entailed estate Mattrup, but after the abolition of the entailed estate V. still followed Mattrup, but it was combined into one farm in 1856.

Jens Henriksen of Føvling is mentioned 1430 and 1449. Torlof Hval of Føvling in 1455.

The sacred spring Ingeborgs kilde was found at Helligkildegård.

Listed prehistorics: 11 hills, of which one of two Staghøje at Våbensholm, is large; along Gudenå river upon a low terrain lies a row of 9 hills and 10 demolished, mostly Stone Age single graves.
Demolished or destroyed: 24 hills.   

Names from the Middle Ages and 1600s: Føvling (1432 Føyling, 1455 Føgligh); Hårup (1347 Haffuetorp, 1492 Haarup); Over- og Neder Åstrup (1489 Astropp); Våbensholm (1664 Webnerholmbs hovedgaard); Ståholm (1683 Staaholm); Bøgebjerg (1664 Bøgebierg gaard).

Source: Trap Danmark, Skanderborg amt, 1964.     

photo 2009: grethe bachmann