Borbjerg church / Borbjerg kirke Vestjylland

Borbjerg kirke, Google earth

Borbjerg kirke lies 11 km northeast of Holstebro.

The big, partly whitewashed church in Borbjerg village is marked by rebuild and extensions in the 1400s. The original Romanesque church is built in granite ashlars in the second half of the 1100s. The choir and nave stand upon a bevelled plinth. From Romanesque details are kept both entrances, both with tympanons with a cross in high relief. The men's door is bricked-up while the women's door is in use via the northern porch. Two monolit-lintels from the nave's Romanesque windows are inserted in the cross arms

In the middle of the 1400s the church was extended with cross arms on both sides. They are built in granite ashlars and in the upper sections in monk bricks. Later came the Gothic tower to the west with north-south gables. According to West Jutland custom-the porch belongs like the tower to late Gothic and it is like the tower built in monk bricks.


During the extension of the choir and the cross arms were built Gothic vaults. They are whitewashed with no trace of frescoes. The  nave is covered with a flat beamed ceiling with a striking and well-composed painting from 1913 in winding decorations on red and grey ground.

Borbjerg kirke, Google earth

The altar decoration consists of two very special sections, a frontale on the communion table with wooden reliefs from the middle of 1200s. The front is carved in three oak-planks put together in one. It is a remarkable work and it was probably made by a joiner- master once in the 1200s. He had seen the golden altars in Sahl and Stadil church, but made his own work in wood with multicolours and metaldecorations. After a restoration of the frontale in 1926 it now stands with a powerful gilt. The motifs are biblical and some of the reliefs follows closely a section in the golden altar in Sahl church.

There are three styles in the frontale and the altarpiece, the front of the communion table is Romanesque, the altarpiece is high Gothic alabast placed in a Renaissance frame work.

Borbjerg kirke, wikipedia

The pretty decorated altarpiece is a brilliant carving from the beginning of the 1600s with pillars, angels, hermer and everything else from the Renaissance, but in the frame work is inserted a very unique alabast altarpiece from the beginning of the 1400s. It is an English import-work, probably from Nottingham  Seven reliefs show the legend about Sct. George (DK: Sct Jørgen)
Three pretty wooden figures in the arcade field in the upper section of the altarpiece are from another late Gothic altarpiece from the 1400s.


The priest-chair on the left side of the altar has a funny openwork Baroque relief. "the apple pickers",  Adam and Eve surrounded by vigorous paradisetrees. From the other inventory is a simple granite Romanesque font from the start of the church building. The pulpit is dated 1625 and is decorated with very simple Evangelist-paintings. The church-connection to the manor Rydhave in the annex-parish Ryde north of Borbjerg parish can be seen on some manor pews, and in the tower room is established an open funeral with a distinguished sandstone sarchophagus for kammerjunker Gert Levetzau (+1791) of Rydhave.

A unique Baroque epitaph from 1683 hangs in the southern cross arm. The inscription is a memory of the priest Knud Poulsen's son, Anders Knudsen Borbjerg /1657-1683), who died in Copenhagen before he finished his studies. Two landscape paintings below show a vue over Copenhagen and a motif from France

Borbjerg kirke, wikipedia

The church has a very high situation and is surrounded by a very large church yard, which mirrors the old village's town-like development. The church yard is closely planted and surrounded by big trees. An avenue leads from the porch to the late Medieval portal with a driving gate and small gate.










You can see fotos from church and inventory:

Start with this link


Borbjerg kirke

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Source: Danmarks kirker Niels Peter Stilling, 2000
photo: Google earth and wikipedia . 

Ørslevkloster , Fjends herred, Viborg amt.

Ørslevkloster, ab. 12 km northeast of Skive
Ørslevkloster sogn, Fjends herred, Viborg amt.

The church forms the north wing of Ørslevkloster's four winged house; it consists of apse, choir and nave from the Romanesque period with late Gothic additions - a tower to the west and a porch on the north side. A chapel on the north side of the choir was removed recently after a long time's decay. The Romanesque building is similar to the village churches of the area, but it is larger than standards. It is built in granite ashlars, and the apse, which is almost as broad as the choir, has a bricked-up round arched window to the east, while the original half cupola vault has been broken down recently; at the same time was the apse wall heightened to the wall height of the choir. Choir and nave have beamed ceilings and the high, broad choir arch is preserved with profiled kragbånd. The tower was added in the late Gothic period, the upper sections are mainly built in monk bricks, but large parts are face-walled with small stones. The bottom room of the tower has a cross vault. The porch is also late Gothic like the heavy buttresses on the south side of the nave at the klostergård.( kloster-yard). At the north side of the choir was once an extension, possibly a sacristy, it was later changed into a burial chapel for the family Berregaard. Its cross vault fell down 1835 damaging the sarcophagi, and in the 1950s the rests of the chapel were removed.



The front of the communion table is in rural Renaissance with lively, painted angel heads. The altarpiece is mixed in various pieces, since a high Renaissance piece in 1736 was equipped with wings and figures in an elegant bruskbaroque (in DK 1630-1660). A beam with carvings across the choir reminds about this; it has the coat of arms and names of Fr. Berregaard and Maria Lasson. Upon the confessional from the same period is placed a small Netherland Renaissance altarpiece with alabast relief. Large Baroque candelabres from the end of the 1600s. A Romanesque granite font with a smooth basin. South German baptismal bowl ab. 1575. A sounding board above the font in achantus Baroque, similar to the pulpit from 1740. Richly carved manor pews from the end of the 1500s with Hans Lindenov's coat of arms. In the nave hangs a large Renaissance chandelier.

In the choir epitaph and grave stone over the freebooter Mogens Heinesen, who was executed in 1589 and after the reverse of the judgment in 1590 was buried her.



Ørslevkloster was founded in the early Middle Ages for nuns, probably from the Benedictine porder. It is mentioned already in the middle of the 1200s and was governed by a prioress. (1468 Ingeborg Mogensdatter) and a prior (1275 Johannes, 1336 Niels Pedersen), who was appointed or which election was confirmed by the Viborg bishops until the ruling period of Chr. I., when the nuns received a letter from the king that told them that no prior could be forced on them against their will. This resulted in a feud in the reformation period with the Viborg bishop. The kloster probably owned some estate, and it had its own birk (judicial district)(until 1800). At the reformation Ø. came under the Crown and was endowed or pawned to nobility, (1537 Henrik Rantzau, 1538 Mogens Kaas(Sparre-K.), 1542 Jens Rotfeld, 1546 Oluf Munk, 1566 fru Mette Oxe, widow after Hans Barnekow, 1568 Hennicke v. Hagen, 1571 fru Anne Lykke, widow after Otte Krumpen, 1575 Malte Jensen Sehested. The nuns still had their maintenance in the kloster, the last prioress was Kirstine Thomasdatter (+ 1581) , the last nun jomfru Mette Mogensdatter (+ 1595), was in 1587 endowed with 2 farms and 1 bol (small farm) in Søby, Kobberup parish in order not to suffer anything when the kloster was sold. In 1584 Fr. II exchanged Ø. with 52 farms, 10 bol, 27 houses and 1 mill to Hans Lindenov (+ 1610), then it belonged to his son Hans Lindenov (+ 1620), and his son Anders Lindenov, who still owned it in 1638, but soon after he died, and it came to his father's half-nephew, rigsråd Hans Lindenov (+ 1642) and his daughter Christence Lindenov (+ 1681); she was married 1) to Axel Gyldenstierne (+ 1637) and 2) to Claus Sested (Sehested?) (+ 1649) and she conveyed 1679 Ø. and Strandet to her daughter's daughter Sophie Amalie Friis (of Haraldskær) , 1682 married to generalløjtnant Johan Rantzau (+ 1708), their daughter Christence Lindenov Rantzau brought Ø. to her husband generalløjtnant grev Christian Frederik Levetzau of Restrup, who in 1719 sold Ø. and Strandet to major, later etatsråd and landsdommer Iver Nicolaj Sehested of Nøragergård, who in 1724 sold both farms (manors) to oberstløjtnant Frederik Berregaard, + same year, whose widow Marie de Lasson (+ 1747) owned it. Later owners: Bünau, Lerche, Bering, Richter, de Hofman, Fønss, Grotrian, Malling, In 1962 rigsgevinde Olga Sponneck.

The main building is listed in class A, it surrounds together with the church a square yard with an entrance via a walled gate between the apse of the church and the end of the east wing. It is in its plan mostly a late Gothic klosterbuilding, but it was marked by a renovation in 1700. In 1920 the building was in decay, and the east wing and a part of the south wing were repaired. In the beginning of the 1930s the owner threatened to break down the not-renovated sections and later maybe the whole manor, but after rigsgrevinde Sponneck took over in 1934 a thorough renovation took place with support from "Det særlige Bygningstilsyn" and from Ny Carlsbergfondet, and some medieval details were brought to light on the west wing of the building. In the east wing is bricked-up an ashlar from a communion table with a reliquary.



Names in the Middle Ages: Hejlskov (1530 Heygellskowg); Hald (*1319 Haal, 1566 Hald); Ørslevkloster (1268 Høstcløf, * 1275 Østerløff).

Lærkenborg was established in 1760 by Jakob Lerche, who lived here after having sold Ørslevkloster. Various owners up til present.

In Ørum lived in the 1. half of the 14th century Lave Grummesen (Saltensee) and ab. 1360 his son Niels Bratze, whose widow Aase Eskildsdatter Falk still lived in 1400.

Listed prehistorics: a 70 m long hill in the heath at Virksund, 42 hills, of which 6 are in a row east of Bøstrup; southwest of Hald is a large group with two other hills.
Demolished or destroyed: 100 hills, they were placed especially close to each other at Hald and at Lund and Bøstup. - Several kitchen middens are known along Virksund and at Ørslevkloster Sø. In a hill at Hald was found an oak coffin with things from Bronze Age: dagger, belt plate, tutulus (jewelry plate in bronze) etc.

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962

photo Ørslevkloster 2003: grethe bachmann

Kettrup church /Kettrup kirke, Vester Han herred, Thisted amt.

Kettrup church in 2006, usually the tower is white-chalked.


Interior


Granite baptismal font from 1100s


Pulpit from 1573


Chessboard

Kettrup church has a Romanesque apse choir and nave, a late Gothic tower to the west and porch to the south. The Romanesque building is in granite ashlars. The granite part of the church is from the 1100s like the granite baptismal font, tower and porch in bricks are from ab. 1500.
Both doors are preserved, the south door round-arched, the north door straight. The original windows are kept in the apse and in the north wall of the choir. The apse has inside a later built monk bricks vault, while the re-walled apse arch has Romanesque kragsten. (profiled edge stones) The circular choir arch has a profiled Attic base and profiled kragsten. The Triumph wall is partly dressed in ashlars. About 1500 a late Gothic tower of the same broadth as the nave was built in re-used ashlars and yellow monk bricks. Its bottom room has an octagonal cross vault and a pointed tower arch. A door in the middle storey stands without a stairway. The smooth gable and the faced walls are probably from 1801 and the porch is very likely from the same time as the tower but without details. The building was restored in 1923-24 ( plus renovations in 2006) .On the southern wall are two chessboard patterns.

The altar piece from 1612 is a højrenæssance High Renaissance (in DK ab. 1580-1610) with Tuscany pillars . In the middle field is placed a small house altar piece from 1561, a Netherland work with biblical alabast reliefs. The Romanesque chorus arch is preserved, the stools are from the 1600s. In the middle of the altar piece is a small house altar from 1561 in alabast reliefs from the Netherlands, given to the church by the owner of the manor Aagard, who also gave the pulpit in 1573. A Romanesque granite font with a pyramid foot with archades and animal ornaments. A south German baptismal basin from ab. 1575. The pulpit is from 1573 and likely aa Aalborg-work, in ungrenæssance, early Renaissance(in DK from 1400-1500) with the coat of arms of Henrik Gyldenstierne, Lisbeth Brahe and Mette Rud. Pews from ab. 1600.-25, the upper pews with Ionian pilasters. A large, probably late Gothic coffin with heavy iron mounting and lock. A church bell from the 1300s, no inscription, Gothic shape.


Names in the Middle Ages and 1600s:
Kettrup (1401 Kætthorp, 1447 Kæætrop); Øslev (1470 Øsløff); Husby (1467 Hwsby); Trustrup (*1487 Trudstrup); Drøstrup (1458 Drostrup, 1477 Drøstrvp); Korsholm (*1320 Korsholm); Øster & Vester Keldgård ( 1488 Kielgard, 1552 Westre Kieldgaard, 1664 Øster Kieldgaard); Kragholm ( 1467 Kraagholm, Kragholm); Skærpinggård (1466 Skyerping) Studsgård ( 1664 Stubsgaard); Siggård( 1467 Siigord).

Ågård belonged for a long time to the family Gyldenstierne. The ex-marsk Erik Nielssøn Gyldenstierne of Ågård is mentioned in 1355, where he had to give the king most of his estate, while he still had Han herred and Næsbo fjerding as a vasalry of the Crown. His son Niels Erikssøn died ibefore 1388, his widow Christine was the owner of Å. in 1388. The son Peder Nielssøn (+ between 1409-1412) inherited Å., but also his brother Erik Nielssøn Gyldenstierne of Tim wrote himself as the owner of Å. in 1423 and 1426. He possibly only had a part of Å. and administered it for his brother's son, Niels Pedersøn (+ ab. 1456), who possibly was not yet of age. In the rebellion in 1441 Å. was burnt down and a contemporary tting-witness tells that Niels Pedersen "kom aff sin gardh icke wthen meth en staff i sin handh" (he was completelty ruined). He wasn't a poor man though, since he inherited much estate, i.e. in Han herred and Hannæs, and his son, rigsråd Mourits Nielssøn of Ågård (+ 1503 or 1504) was an eager collector of estates, he owned about 600 farms; i.e. in the nearby area of Ågård he inherited 76 farms. His widow Margrete Turesdatter Bielke died in 1507, and Å. went to the only child Anne Mouritsdatter, widow after Oluf Stigsøn Krognos. A few years later she married Predbjørn Claussøn Podebusk (+ 1541). Anne died in 1545, and in the division of the estate after her in 1550 her son of first marriage Mourits Olufsøn Krognos got one half of Ågård, the other half went to her only child of second marriage Jytte Predbjørnsdatter Podebusk. Her husband, the last Catholic Odense-bishop Knud Henriksøn Gyldenstierne (+ 1568), gathered Ågård estate by buying his brother-in-law's half-part. After this came the son admiral Henrik Gyldenstierne (+ 1592) and his son Knud Gyldenstierne, + childless in 1627. His widow Sophie Lindenov sold in 1630 Å. to her mother Margrete Rosenkrantz, widow after Hans Johansen Lindenov. Later various owners: family Rantzau, Benzon, Hviid, Mylius, Roulund etc.

Between the country road and the main building of Ågård is an overgrown voldsted (castle bank), a large medieval work of two almost square banks with moats, surrounded by a moor
(originally a lake), which was diked by still partly preserved dikes.On the northern bank are still raw boulder foundations and monk bricks. Probably origins from a four-winged plan, but it has not been possible to decide whether these ruins are from the building which was burnt down in 1441. In the moor are some driven in posts. The plan can be registered as a castrum-curia-plan.

In a letter from 1320 is said the Korsholm is owned by the monks of Vitskøl.

In 1467 it is witnessed that Kragholm and all its estate was given to Vor Frue altar in Kettrup Church for masses, which Mourits Nielsen Gyldenstierne of Ågård's ancestors established in the old days.

South of Kettrup is a hillside named Skt. Jørgensbjerg, where was a battle 6/6 1441 between Christoffer of Bayern and the rebellious north Jutland peasants. The peasants, who was lead by the nobleman Henrik Tagesen Reventlow, suffered a bloody defeat. A folksong accuses the morsingboer and tyboer (people from Mors and Thy) of having let down the vendelboerne (people from Vendsyssel), but this cannot be proved. 15/7 1945 a memorial was raised in Husby Hole.

Listed prehistorics: a long dolmen without a chamber at Vester Keldgård, a passage grave Klovenhøj with a 3 1/2 m long chamber with two cover stones south of Kettrup and 19 hills, of which two at Husby are rather large.
Demolished or destroyed: Not less than 126 hills, most of them on the hillside in the eastern part of the parish.

At Husby Hole was a sacred spring, Skt. Jørgens Kilde.

Source: Trap Danmark, Thisted amt, 1961.

photo 16 June 2006: grethe bachmann