Brøns church, Tønder Kommune, Sønderjylland

Brøns church, 15 km south of Ribe.

sundial

The church in Brøns is literally one of Denmark's big churches, known as Denmark's largest village church. It is known for its fine Gothic inventory and the unique frescoes. The artist reproduced in his paintings his view of the decay of the Pope church in the 1530s.

The 47 m long whitewashed building stands upon a profiled granite plinth. The church was in the Middle Ages consecrated to Sankt Villads and had a close connection to Ribe cathedral. 

Apse and choir are the earliest, Romanesque from the late 1100s, built in tufa stone.  The nave (in tufa stone) was built in the beginning of the 1200s. The large windows are new, but four Romanesque windows can still be  traced at the northside. In  a window of the nave is a glass painting by J.T.Skovgaard. Choir and nave have a flat beamed ceiling. The apse is covered in a late Gothic rib vault. The beamed ceiling has acanthus decorations from the 1700s.

Upon the northside of the choir is a closed priest-door, but all other original doors have disappeared. The late Gothic tower was built in monk bricks in the late 1400s. It rises 31 m tall with a typical spire (Tørninglen-type).The  present entrance is via the tower room.Here are frescoe-rests in the vault and a Romanesque gravestone in granite with a relief cross.

The little special ridge turret upon the choir is from the Renaissance period. All roof work is original and is signed with runes and the name Didrik.
 




 












Inventory:
Late Renaissance altarpiece is probably carved by the Varde-master Jens Olufsen. The paintings in the fields are original. Upon the gallery 12 apostel figures from a late Gothic triptychon and an organ from 1699, later rebuilt.  In the choir a monstrance-cupboard from ab. 1300s. The Romanesque granite font is somewhat scrapped in 1858, upon the basin are four male heads and diverse ornaments, upon the foot four corner heads. Above the font a sounding board from 1651. Upon a newer beam in the triumph arch a large crucifix group from the late 15th century. A simple Renaissance pulpit. Closed pews from 1730. A late medieval church coffin and an armored moneyblock from the 17th century. Two late Baroque style epitaphs. A Romanesque gravestone in the tower room and ab. 20 gravestones from the 16-18th century. The church was restored in 1961 by architect R. Graae.



Frescoes

 The frescoes in Brøns have a unique place among Danish frescoes. The frescoes upon the northern wall of the church are from the 1530, in the time of the reformation. The inspiration comes from Germany  They are filled with clerical and secular figures dressed in colourful and draped robes from the 1500s. The frescoes in Brøns is a unique document from the time of the reformation . 

 







photo: grethe bachmann
source: Danmarks kirker, Niels Peter Stilling, 2000. - Nordens kirker - Danmarks kirker. dk - wikipedia. 

Fiskbæk church / Fiskbæk kirke, Nørlyng herred, Viborg amt.

Fiskbæk Church, ab. 10 km northwest of Viborg.
Fiskbæk sogn, Nørlyng herred, Viborg amt.

The small high-placed church in Fiskbæk is situated in surroundings, which were listed from 1949. It has a Romanesque choir and nave, built in granite ashlars. From original details are a bricked-up window in the east wall of the choir and in the south wall of the nave, while a small window in the north wall of the nave is still in use. Both portals of the nave are preserved, the northern walled, the southern at the porch still functions. The tower is probably from the late Middle Ages, in the bottom built in re-used ashlars, above in monk bricks; after the upper section of the tower had been broken down till cornice height, a half-timbered ridge turret with an onion-shaped spire was placed above the west gable. Inside the choir and nave have a beamed ceiling, while the tower room is vaulted. The Romanesque choir arch in granite ashlars with heavy kragbånd is preserved. Upon the north wall of the nave was in 1946 brought to light a fresco-painted year 1624.

Upon the wooden communion table stand two ore candelabres, given 1650 by Hans Olufsen and Else Bolisdatter in Løgstrup, and an altar piece, Lutheranian triptychon ab. 1600, decorated 1946, in the middle field a painting signed by J. Skovgård 1950, an older painting from the beginning of the 1800s hangs upon the wall in the church. A Romanesque granite font with a square base with corner heads and leaf ornaments upon the basin, like in Vorde, a baptismal bowl with the coat of arms of fru Alhed Urne, ab. 1550. A pulpit in late Renaissance has a carved year 1641, in the corners are pillars with decorations like in Ravnstrup. Upon the north wall of the nave a late Medieval crucifix ab. 1450. An old iron-mounted door wing between porch and nave. Church ship, the bark " Kohrasin" from 1946.


Names in the Middle Ages and 1600s:
Fiskbæk (1263 Fiskæbek, Viskebæch, 1336 Feskebæk); Rogenstrup (1492 Raanstrop, 1524 Roenstrvp, Roeenstrop); Løgstrup (1408 Løghsthorp); Ørregård * 1440 Ørregaard(t)); 1461 Ørægardh); Snabe (1664 Snabe).

Niels Mikkelsen (Krabbe of Østergård) conveyed in 1336 as an inheritance after Peder Mikkelsen named Bonde, the eastern farm in Vormstrup to væbner Jakob Mikkelsen Palk. He in 1355 conveyed O. (Vormstrup = Ormstrup) to Mikkel Nielsen (Krabbe of Østergård), who in 1359 had conveyed from his late sister Maren's estate in the parish from his brother-in-law Jens Palnsesen Kældersvend. His son hr. Niels Mikkelsen (Krabbe) had in 1408 to give up his estate in Fiskbæk to queen Margrete for having violated the peace at the Thing. The estate was endowed to rigsråd Niels Clementsen (+ 1518), and then to Niels Mikkelsen's great-grandchild rigsmarsk hr. Tyge Krabbe, who in 1523 got the estate as his property.

Ørregård was in 1440 one of 12 canonpræbender at Viborg domkirke.( After the reformation the name was changed into Fly).Ø. was under Viborg domchapter until 1578, when it by the Crown was exchanged to Karen Krabbe (of Østergård), widow after Niels Skeel of Nygård, and her son-in-law Otte Banner. In 1663 it was under Tårupgård, whose managers usually lived there, but in 1724 Frederik Christian Høeg Banner had it.(+ 1744). Later owners:Müller, Stabell, Rønning, Mussmann , Thisted, later it belonged to Math. Skow. (+ 1890).

Løgstrupgård belonged in the end of the 1500s to the peasant Christen Pedersen, then his son Bolle Christensen (+ 1623). His son, forstander at Herlufsholm Christen Bollesen became the ancestor of the family Luxdorph.


at Hjarbæk fjord

At Fiskbæk (Hjarbæk fjord) was a part of the fleet which Knud den Hellige had gathered in 1085 for an expedition to England.

When digging a field in Fiskbæk were in 1831 found an ore pot with 8-9000 copper coins from Erik Menved and Christoffer II, hidden ab. 1328.

Listed prehistorics: southwest of Fiskbæk Bollerhøj with a dolmen chamber, furthermore 35 hils, of which several are rather large: Jonshøj and another hill south of Fiskbæk; east of Løgstrup two hills(one at Villumbjerg) and Søsterbjerghøj in a plantation, south of Rogenstrup Stolhøj and two other in a group of 5 hills; southeast of Rogenstrup Store Lergravshøj and close to the parish border Stingershøj, Nordre and Søndre Skelhøj.
Demolished or destroyed: a passage grave, a stone cist and 73 hills. - Kitchen middens are known fram Ørregård and Nybro.

Source: Trap Danmark, Viborg amt, 1962


photo Fiskbæk kirke/Hjarbæk 2007/2009: grethe bachmann