The Fate of Skodborghus

Towards the end of the 1500s, Skodborghus' days as a royal palace and independent fief ​​were numbered. In 1573, the castle was placed under Koldinghus and only seven years later,  it slipped completely out of the Crown's ownership.

 

Frederick II was an enthusiastic huntsman and he wanted to establish a collective hunting district in Eastern Jutland. He therefore exchanged Skodborghus with Vranderupgård in Seest parish. The latter belonged to Kirstine Ulfelt, now took up residence at Skodborghus. She had been married to Povl Abildgaard, and the castle became a private noble manor house owned by the Abildgaard family, who took up residence on the estate.

 

In 1647, the owner of Skodborghus inherited Mandrup Abildgaard Estrup Manor from Thomas Juul. The two estates were then run together.

 

The Swedish wars was hard on both the farm and the region, and Skodborghus never regained its previous strength.

 

The buildings suffered greatly in 1659 hard during the proximity to the Polish auxiliary troops camp in Skudstrup, and many of its tenant farms were destroyed. Skodborghus sank to becoming a tenant farm under Estrup. It was a farm in decline.

 

Hans Jepsen Gundorph, a farmer's son from Åre, bought Skodborghus in 1772. He resold the farm in 1786 to the customs inspector Michael Møller, who in 1788 parcelled out large parts of the land. Ten new farms and three new smallholdings were created. The farm that remained was a paltry 181 acres of poor soil and crumbling buildings.

 

 In 1811, Hans Kristian Thomsen from Skodborg bought the old castle, which was now almost was a ruin. He was the last person who lived at Skodborghus. Three years later he took over the post office and inn and chose to move the farm up to Ribe-Kolding main road. The inn and post office would have a more central location here in relation to the traffic. The old castle was  demolished and the stones were reused for the construction of the new farmhouse.

 

The New Skodborghus farm was in the Thomsen family's ownership for more than 100 years, but in 1866 the property was divided. The grandson Fr. Thomsen inherited the inn. He built the current inn building on the south side of the road. The daughter, Sophie Juliane Thomsen, took over the post office and farm.

 

The farm burned down in 1929, and the ruins were razed to the ground. The old farm's poor soils were subdivided into six new state smallholdings.

 

In 1861, Ribe and Haderslev County Council decided to build a new bridge over the river Kongeå. At the same time the road was remade so it would pass over the castle bank. The Thomsen family had already built a pensioner's house on parts of the castle bank, which was leased to the customs authorities in 1865.

 

In 1895-96,  it was decided to clear the rest of the castle banks away. Large amounts of landfill and lime were driven out to the meadows. The last big pile of stones was removed in 1900.

 

Author: Linda Klitmøller, museum curator, Sønderskov Museum