Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Story of Fruens Bøge and Christiansdal




Fruens Bøge is a grove of beech trees bordering the Odense River in Dalum Parish in greater Odense, Denmark. This is where Anna Bøg's great-grandfather, Christian Bøg, was discovered as a foundling in 1792.

"Fruens Bøge" is best translated as “Our Lady’s Beech Grove”. From 1536 to 1877, Fruens Bøge belonged to an estate called Christiansdal. The estate property, however, once belonged to a Roman Catholic Benedictine religious order of nuns.

Formerly located at Nonnebakken (“Nuns Hill”) in central Odense, the Benedictine nuns established a cloister at Dalum in 1197. The church now referred to as Dalum Church was part of the cloister holdings and comprised the north wing of the cloister’s four-sided courtyard. The church was constructed in such a manner that the cloistered nuns could sit in a loft and look down into the sanctuary during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass without being seen by those in the nave.

The property remained in the possession of the Benedictines until 1536 when, as a result of the Reformation, the land was “assigned to” (i.e. taken over by) the Danish crown, which held it from 1536 to 1662. During that time, the property became a fief called Christiansdal. King Christian IV went there often. In 1620, the King’s mother-in-law became the holder of the fief. King Christian’s second wife Kirsten Munk, who bore him 12 children, raised her daughter Leonore Christine on the estate.

In 1627, during the Thirty Years War, the King established his headquarters at Christiansdal. It was while living at Christiansdal that King Christian IV and Kirsten Munk’s marriage failed. In 1646, King Christian described the property as highly dilapidated. He ordered the buildings restored at the cost of the parish churches. In 1647, however, he had the south transept of Dalum Church torn down.

In either 1659 or 1662 (depending on the source), King Christian IV’s son, Frederick III, transferred Christiansdal to Jens Lassen, a judge, who held the estate until 1682. Jens Lassen’s daughter, Margrethe, the first Danish novelist, grew up at Christiansdal. After 1682, the estate passed through various hands and at times reverted to the crown.

In 1764, Lt. Col. Christian Benzon purchased Christiansdal at an auction and it remained a private estate in the hands of the Benzon family until 1882, except that in 1877 the municipality of Odense purchased Fruens Bøge, the beech grove portion of the estate. (It is now a city park.)

From 1882 the remaining land was purchased by a baron who sold it to a widow named Christine Lange in 1891. Lange died in 1902. In 1906, her heirs sold the estate to the Roman Catholic religious order of St. Hedvig, which has held it ever since. The St. Hedvig sisters returned the structure it its original use as a convent. (The convent buildings are now referred to as Dalum Cloister. The Sisters of St. Hedvig operated a sanatorium there for some time. Now, they serve the housing needs of the elderly at the same location.)

During the years 1926 to 1927 the church was restored and the south transept rebuilt. The church, however, is not part of the current Catholic holdings at Dalum but rather is Lutheran.

Sources in addition to those linked above:
Catholic Encyclopedia article, "Ancient See of Odense in Denmark".
Trap Denmark (a Danish atlas), pp. 206-207.

Images:
Top - Odense River in 2002, probably adjacent to Fruens Bøge, from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.
Center - Dalum Cloister in 2007, from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.
Bottom - Dalum Church in 2006, from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to leave a comment about this wonderful collection of Geneaology about my family. This is about my Danish Ancestry. Remember meeting Anna and other relatives as a child. The fond memories I had, I will always cherish. Thank You

The Danish Knight said...

Anonymous,

Thank you for letting us know. We'd be pleased to know who you are. If you'd like, you can e-mail us at: thedanishknight(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Unknown said...

My name is Karen Madsen, Peter Madsen's grandaughter. Thank you for responding to my blog. I am so pleased to learn more of my family history in Denmark.

Unknown said...

"Mozzie", We're happy you came back. Thank you for identifying yourself. The posts you might find most interesting in relation to your family history are "The Story of Christian Bog" and "Early Life" See the link list to the right. "Early Life" is the last item. The Christian Bog post is about 2/3 way down the list.

Kristin Jenson said...

Can you please send me the link to the story of Christian Bog? He is my ancestor and I am so happy to have found this blog. My Grandma told me about Anna Madsen a while ago and I didn't realise how extensive this blog was until now.

Marie-Jacqueline said...

Hi Kristin, I'm co-author of this blog. Sorry it took me so long to post your comment of October 12, 2016. If you go to the main page of the blog, then scroll down on the right hand side you will find the link to the Christian Bog story. Just click on that. I'd appreciate it if you'd let me known what line you are in of the descendants from Christian Bog? I am in touch with several of his descendants & would like to know where you fit in. Thanks.