Castles and Manors
Experience the beauty of the area manor houses in their intriguing natural settings. Take a tour of the Kerteminde area estates, either by bicycle or by car, and learn about the six-or-seven-hundred year history of these properties and their owners.
It was in the 1200's that the homes of the nobility first became markedly different and separate from the rest of the rural settlements or single farms. During the following centuries, they changed the look of the landscape, this can still be observed on Hindsholm when we gaze upon the wide, sweeping manor fields.
It was in the 1200's that the homes of the nobility first became markedly different and separate from the rest of the rural settlements or single farms. During the following centuries, they changed the look of the landscape, this can still be observed on Hindsholm when we gaze upon the wide, sweeping manor fields.
The Manor as a military presence
In the Middle Ages, the manors were first and foremost military bases, built up around central defense towers. These were placed on high, coneshaped ramparts called mottes. The walls and building of these forts have long since disappeared, but the distinctive ramparts can still be seen.
At Hverringe, just past the forest on the road from Kerteminde, you can see a well-preserved and stately example of such a defense mound, about 6 meter high. Near the top there is more recent addition, a stone-lined "cellar" for storing ice.
In the forests belonging to Lundsgaard, just to the south of Kerteminde, there are some of the most interesting and best-preserved ramparts from this period. The Virgins' Mound has two mottes, both with surrounding moats, and a horseshoe-shaped, low rampart. At the Virgin's Mound there have been finds of coins from 1320 to 1425, which means there was a fortified manor here at the time that Erik om Pommern, the Danish King, made Kerteminde a market town in 1943.
At Hverringe, just past the forest on the road from Kerteminde, you can see a well-preserved and stately example of such a defense mound, about 6 meter high. Near the top there is more recent addition, a stone-lined "cellar" for storing ice.
In the forests belonging to Lundsgaard, just to the south of Kerteminde, there are some of the most interesting and best-preserved ramparts from this period. The Virgins' Mound has two mottes, both with surrounding moats, and a horseshoe-shaped, low rampart. At the Virgin's Mound there have been finds of coins from 1320 to 1425, which means there was a fortified manor here at the time that Erik om Pommern, the Danish King, made Kerteminde a market town in 1943.
Manor Houses in the late Middle Ages
The fortified strongholds of the nobility were a constant threat against the central leadership of the country, so Queen Margrethe passed a law in 1396 against the further building of such forts. After that time, the typical noble lived on an unfortified "Squire's farm"
However, in 1481, the nobles were able to get this ruling reversed. They built a new type of fortified manor, which because of the advent of canons, was no longer built around a high motte and tower. Now the ramparts were flat and surrounded by a 10-15 meter wide moat.
Two examples of this type of rampart can be seen in Revninge, on the farms called Jershave and Voldsgård. Jershave was established in the early 1500's and its buildings were torn down around 1800.
However, in 1481, the nobles were able to get this ruling reversed. They built a new type of fortified manor, which because of the advent of canons, was no longer built around a high motte and tower. Now the ramparts were flat and surrounded by a 10-15 meter wide moat.
Two examples of this type of rampart can be seen in Revninge, on the farms called Jershave and Voldsgård. Jershave was established in the early 1500's and its buildings were torn down around 1800.
Manor houses as luxury homes
From the middle of the 1500's the nobility lost their military role. Their manors were therefore no longer fortified; instead they were designed to impress. Those who had once been mounted knights became lords of the manor and took over vast land holdings, at the expense of small farmers.
The large, stone-built manor houses and outbuildings which grace the countryside today are almost all built between 1550 and 1800
The large, stone-built manor houses and outbuildings which grace the countryside today are almost all built between 1550 and 1800
