Maarup church and sorroundings April 2007 - December 2014 by Peter Sandbøl

Maarup Church and Sorroundings April 2007 – December 2014 With sporadic introduction on sand drifts and erosion from abt. 1550 -1936

Maarup Church with Rubjerg Wandering Dune in the background, September 1999. Tore Gundersborg Sandbøl ©

Peter Sandbøl

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Editing, text and layout: Peter Sandbøl © Cover photo: Courtesy of Tore Gundersborg Sandbøl Map on page: from The Ministry of <Environment. All other photo’s: Peter Sandbøl ©

Side 2 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Content: Content: ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Preface .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Sand drifts and erosion.............................................................................................................. 5 References: ..................................................................................................................................... 6 April 2007 ........................................................................................................................................ 8 May 2009 ........................................................................................................................................ 15 October 2009 ................................................................................................................................ 21 July 2012 ........................................................................................................................................ 24 December 2014 ........................................................................................................................... 43

Side 3 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Preface The background for compiling this material is a number of personal interests and reasons: 1) Through more than 40 years of genealogical research, I have been able to trace one of my ancestral lines back to this parish and church. In other words, they were members of the parish and worked the land just north of the church, which is now for the majority in the ocean. Very possibly so, are their remains. Family relations and others, who may be interested in further details may find these at the following link: http://tubakken.dk/9540/Jesper%20J%C3%B8rgensen%20&%20Kirsten%20Nielsdatte r

2) It has almost, always fascinated me how mankind and nature forms our environment and puzzled me how and why personal and political decisions influence the outcome. A lot of this is beyond the scope of the present material. However, a very instructional site covering some of these aspects should be available in Danish, English and German at the following link: http://rubjergknude.dk/engelsk/cover-page/front-page/

A link to an NGO site with the goal to save the church on sight – unfortunately only in Danish and German - is available at this link: http://www.maarupkirke.dk/maarup.htm

3) I took my first photo’s at the age of 4 and has had it as a on and off hobby ever since. I have never brought it to the point of technical perfection or professional use, but still like it for documentation, preserving impressions and communicating both. More photos on various topics are available through this link, which is only partially in English: http://www.sandbol.dk/ 4) With time, I have realised that available time, life and relationships are fragile. New discoveries may also find place. Whatever detailed reasons, a consequence is that a perfect result may never be reached. As a result, effort and time is lost. In conclusion – and not being sure about covering all interests and reasons – I have decided to share my work along the way and hope that it may be of use as a stepping stone for others, who may share in an equal way. I sincerely hope that some of you may find it interesting and maybe even inspiring and in the latter case that you will not forget the source.

Side 4 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Sand drifts and erosion Outside Loenstrup village, where its western fields reaches the sea, the cliff is less than 30 m above sea level, but from there it rises towards the south to reach 70 m at Rubjergknud to which height the dunes shall be added. In the 1553 report from the local priest, he writes, that in Rubjerg parish, the house for the parish clerck is all spilled by sand, as well as the whole parish and this was also the case in Maarup parish where the priest’s farm was almost totally covered by sand. In the priest’s report from July 21st 1568 (Hansen, 1964) it is imformed that there are 19 farms, 13 bol and 4 houses in Rubjerg parish plus 12 farms, 1 mill, 7 bol and 2 houses in Maarup parish belonging under various estates. In the priest’s report from 1571 he writes, that in Rubjerg parish, the priest’s farm which the priest had moved, was all spoiled by sand and for Maarup it is said that the priest’s farm is badly spiled with all it’s property. In the priest’s report from 1599 (Hansen, 1964) it is informed that there are 5 farms and 25 bol belonging to the nobility and the Crown. 2 bol are under the church with the taxes to the crown. In Maarup parish there are 6 farms and 8 bol. One farm is under the church with the taxes to the crown. In 1625 the priest’s farm in Maarup has been desolate for many years. The priest’s report of 1638 for Rubjerg-Maarup parishes (Knudsen, 1911-1914) says: South west of Rubjerg Church there used to be “a large tall mountain” by the name of Rubjerg Knude, which has fallen into the sea a long time ago. Rubjærg and Maarup List of what is to be found in Rubjerg parish. Villages: 1) Ruberg, 2) Wllstrup. Farms: 1) Allstrup, 2) Kaihollm. Mountains: South west from Ruberg Church there used to be “a large tall mountain”Kirke har været ”et stort, højt bjerg” by the name of Rubjerg Knude, which has fallen into the sea a long time ago. In the annex Morup. One village, Lønstrup, throughwhich runs a brook. Some years back there used to be a large village called Vistrup, which has been totally spoiled by the Dune, and in which is now six fishing cottages also being called Vistrup. A witness at Vennebjerg District’s court, March 21st 1642 tells that Mads Mikkelsen’s farm in Lønstrup is so spoiled, that it can only pay half the taxes and its value isn’t half as good as 40 years ago. What the man could then plow, is now in the sea. According to a court witness of February 13th 1643 the land of 14 men in Lønstrup Village Field was so spoiled and ruined by sand drift and water - worse than last year so they could only pay half tax. The same counted for 6 men in Vester Vidstrup, which used to be ”a large village”, but now was 6 fishing cottages (priest’s report of 1638). In a court witness of April 22nd 1650 it is mentioned that Maarup parish is more spoiled from sand drift than earlier. © Peter Sandbøl – sandbol.peter@gmail.com - www.sandbol.dk

Side 5 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

A witness of Vennebjerg District Court of March 1652 says that fields and meadows of Lønstrup, plus gathering of firewood and grazing was partly destroyed by sand and partly taken by the sea, so that now there was neither meadow nor firewood. A court witness of December 15th 1653 states: “V. Vidstrup fields, meadow, firewood and grazing is so spoiled by sand, that it is impossible to plow or grow anything and that the small earthen dwellings are drifted by sand, and their kitchen gardens ruined. One smallhold is deserted due to sand drift. In 1680 Lønstrup Village in Maarup parish lay open to the beach and sand drifting, which immediately ruined the fields and the sea cut from the fields, so that they caught fish where they used to grow good cereal. At the priest’s farm the majority was wasted and V. Vidstrup fields and meadow lay covered in white sand, and the inhabitants had moved except from one smallhold. In the field register from 16?? Maarup village is: ”the old, due to sand drift, moved Wistrup Village and now called Maarup in the land registers”. The damages due to sand drift have certainly been huge, as Maarup Village in 1688 only consisted of 6 bol. Of the village’s total land, 69 acres were in Vidstup fields, 14.3 in Vennebjerg field and 0.7 in Lønstrup Field. In Rubjerg Village there was one full size farm besides the priest’s in 1688, 11 full and 5 half bol plus 9 houses with land. Ulstrup Village in Rubjerg parish was only a small village with hardly 4 full and 2 half bol plus one house with land. The position of Lønstrup in the bottom of a deep ravine had certain practical aspects: easy access to fresh water, shelter from the western winds and natural way down to the sea. In 1688, Lønstrup Village had 3 full farms, 1 half farm, 8 full and 1 half smallhold plus 3 quarter bol 1 smallhold and 11 housses without land. The memorial stone of the visit Christian IX in Loenstrup in 1871, west of Maarup Church, was 265 feet from the escarpment in 1889; but 17years later only 221 feet and in 1936 144 feet. The illustrations shown after the references may give an impression of the change of the coastline during time. References: Hansen, C.R. 1964. Præsteindberetninger om fæstegods m.v. i Vendelbo Stift 1568 og 1599. Udg. Udvalget for udgivelse af kilder til landbefolkningens historie. Dansk Videnskabs Forlag. Hansen, V. 1964. Landskab og bebyggelse i Vendsyssel. Studier over landbegyggelsens udvikling indtil slutningen af 1600-taller. Kulturgeografiske Skrifter Bd. 7. C.A. Reitzels Forlag 1964, Kbhvn. Eng summary: Morphology and rural settlement in Vendsyssel. Klitgaard, C. 1942. Sandflugten i Vendsyssel og en forsvunden landsby ved Kjul Strand. Vends Aarb Bd XIV, 1-46. Hist Samf Hjørring Amt 1941-42. Knudsen, H. 1911-14. Indberetninger fra præsterne i Aalborg Stift 1638. Jy Saml, Rk 4 Bd I, 73-141. Jy Hist Top Selsk 1911-14.

Side 6 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Map from the land registry from about year 1800 showing the church just below the name Maarupgaard. (The Ministry of Environment).

The changing coastline. (Hansen, 1964). © Peter Sandbøl – sandbol.peter@gmail.com - www.sandbol.dk

Side 7 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

April 2007

Maarup Church from the west side. The Anchor stems from the British ship the Crescent which stranded under way to Gothenburg in 1808, during the Napoleonic wars (In Denmark we call them the English wars). © Peter Sandbøl – sandbol.peter@gmail.com - www.sandbol.dk

Side 8 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Maarup Church.

Side 9 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The church and the coast line from the south.

View to the South from Maarup Church. Rubjerg Mile (wandering dune) and Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse which is now abandoned. The lighthouse was first lit on December 27th 1900 and on August 1st 1968 the light was turned off finally. The tower is 23 meter tall and placed on the highest spot above sea level (60 meters). However today the Dunes are higher than the tower. When it was build it was 200 meters from the sea today it is about 30-40 meters. © Peter Sandbøl – sandbol.peter@gmail.com - www.sandbol.dk

Side 10 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Maarup Church with the bell tower to the right.

Side 11 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

View from Rubjerg Mile towards Vennebjerg church.

Side 12 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

View from Rubjerg Wandering Dune towards Maarup Church (white at the edge of the sea) and Loenstrup Village, where the new church made of red bricks and substitute for Maarup, is seen in the green forest.

Side 13 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Rubjerg Knud Lighthouse.

Side 14 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

May 2009

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse.

Side 15 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The coastline at Maarup Church.

The Church from the west side. Roof and walls down to about 6-7 feet above ground level has been removed. © Peter Sandbøl – sandbol.peter@gmail.com - www.sandbol.dk

Side 16 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Rubjerg Sand dune and Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse.

Side 17 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Maarup Church from the north. Plaster on the wall removed.

The interior of the church. Plaster on the walls and church furniture removed.

Side 18 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The Anchor stems from the British ship the Crescent which stranded under way to Gothenburg in 1808, during the Napoleonic wars (In Denmark we call them the English wars). It has now been moved to the land side of the church. In the background, Rubjerg Mile (wandering dune) and Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse.

Side 19 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Vennebjerg Mill.

Side 20 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

October 2009

Rubjerg Sand Dune and Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse.

Side 21 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The coastline at the Church.

Side 22 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Maarup Church from the west.

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse from Maarup Church.

Side 23 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

July 2012

At the old church yard at Rubjerg.

Side 24 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

At the old church yard at Rubjerg.

Side 25 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Rubjerg Sand Dune and Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse.

Side 26 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 27 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The memorial stone of the visit Christian IX in Loenstrup in 1871. The memorial stone has been moved further inland.

Side 28 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Marup church from the west side. The western wall is now removed.

Side 29 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 30 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 31 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 32 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 33 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The raw interior wall. © Peter Sandbøl – sandbol.peter@gmail.com - www.sandbol.dk

Side 34 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

November 2012

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse.

Side 35 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 36 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Maarup Church.

Side 37 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 38 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 39 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Plate in memory of the officers and men drowned from the Crescent in 1808. Originally placed in the church of Maarup, now in the church of Loenstrup.

Side 40 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Maarup Church babtistry now in Loenstrup Church.

Side 41 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Part of the original alter from Maarup Church, now in the church of Loenstrup. Showing the Holy Mother Maria with the child Jesus next to her mother Scta. Anna.

Side 42 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

December 2014

Side 43 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 44 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 45 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The interior of Maarup Church from the west The northern wall of the main room has been removed.

Side 46 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The interior of Maarup Church from the west.

Side 47 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

The bell tower at Maarup Church and Loenstrup.

Side 48 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

View from Rubjerg Wandering Dune towards Vennebjerg Church.

Side 49 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

View from Rubjerg Wandering Dune towards Maarup Church and Loenstrup.

The Lighthouse at Raabjerg Knude. The houses are complete broken down.

Side 50 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 51 af 52

Maarup Church and Sorroundings: April 2007 – December 2014

Side 52 af 52