The history of Grestedbro

Gredstedbro was an important crossing point, which evolved from customs office to railway station town.

The ballad of Queen Dagmar

The town of Gredstedbro is mentioned for the first time in the ballad of Queen Dagmar,” When the king rode off to Skanderborg, 100 journeymen followed him. When he came to Gredstedbro only the Dagmar boy was following him”. However, it was not until 1591, with Anders Sørensen Vedel's collection and release that the song became widely known, although the year of Queen Dagmar's death was back in 1212.

This famous event of the ride over the bridge at Gredstedbro is portrayed in master mason Lindgreen’s relief, which can now be seen on Kongeåhallen’s gable, and not far from Skanderborg castle stands a statue of Queen Dagmar’s boy galloping wildly.

Why was it exactly at Gredstedbro that the king and the boy rode over ”the great river”, which the river Kongeå was named for many centuries? It is because the western connection road between the kingdom and the duchies lay here. It was along this road that huge herds of cattle were taken out of the country, and it was also here that customs had to be paid for export.

In the 1500s, there was an increase in the export of horses, bullocks and other beasts over the river Kongeå and southwards. The river Kongeå was the official border between Northern Jutland and Southern Jutland and as there was a road that led over the river at Gredstedbro, it was here that the cattle droves had to be declared. However, it was in Gredstedbro that the number of bullocks, or whatever else it was, you came with had to be registered, and then pay the relevant customs duties in Ribe.

Customs office established

Until 1542 the duty per animal was two old Danish skillings, which was not that much and was affordable, but because of the state's rising costs, such as the civil war Grevens Fejde1534-1536, the duty was increased tenfold in 1542. This initiated the smuggling trade over the river Kongeå, which of course in turn led to tighter controls.

Therefore, in 1570 the king ordered a peasant from Gredsted to move down to the bridge, where he was put in charge of registering the numerous animals that were taken across the river to the cattle markets in Ribe. At that time, there were 10 farmers in Gredsted, as the town was called back then, and there were no residents at the place which is now Gredstedbro. However, none of the ten men wanted to move, so instead a smallholder from Kamtrup Hede in Hygum parish was persuaded to take the job. Niels Nielsen was thus the first inhabitant in Gredsted when the customs office opened in 1571.

Gredsted becomes Gredstedbro

Soon a small settlement was established around the customs office and the customs inspector also began to run an inn. When the railway between Bramming and Ribe opened in 1875, Gredsted became a railway station. The town grew and the town name of Gredstedbro became official in 1887. It is said that it was the possible confusion between Graested station on Sealand and Gredsted station here that was the reason for the new name.

The time of urban development was in full force. Craftsmen and merchants came, the railwaymen were joined by postmen on the station. In 1905, the inn became Gredstedbro Hotel, and in 1912, the dairy cooperative was built opposite the station.

In 1924, the town had grown so much that the citizens believed that there were grounds for a church. It was a long way to Jernved, so a collection of money and signatures was launched, and in November 1925 the church was finished.

In 1941, the school, which had previously been in Gredsted, received a new classroom and a teacher’s apartment where the current school now lies, and in 1943 two additional classrooms were built as extensions to the first. The school moved officially from Gredsted to Gredstedbro, and then things progressed rapidly until it developed into the big school that we know today. In 1954, the old age home Karstenminde was inaugurated, so now provisions had been made for both the youngest and the oldest citizens.

The town’s development

Gredstedbro in Jernved parish was part of Jernved parish municipality until the municipal reform in 1970, when Ribe Municipality was formed from 14 rural parishes. Since 2007, Gredstedbro has belonged to Esbjerg Municipality.

In the early 1970s, a major construction of homes and businesses was started west of the railroad, and in 1973 by-pass and motorway traffic began coming to Esbjerg.

Ribe Municipality bought and parcelled out a large area north of Darumvej (Kjærmarken), but because of the oil crisis, the construction almost came to a halt, and only from around 1990 was there any progress in the development again. Kjærmarken is now almost fully developed. However, there has been a decline in trade and craftsmanship. Since the late 1990s, Gredstedbro has gone through the same development as most other smaller communities. There are now only a few businesses left, including a Dagli'Brugs supermarket and a couple of craftsmen.

Author: Ole Steinmeier, Jernved Parish archives

Sources and literature:

H. N. Skade: Gredstedbro ved Kongeåen, Historisk Samfund for Ribe Amt 1968

Jernved Parish archives, see http://gredstedbroegnen.dk/foreninger/sognarkivet/   

Billeder:

2.      Gredstedbros historie

a.       Filnavn: Dagmars dreng 002

Tekst: Statue of Dagmar’s boy Skanderborg.

Foto: Ole Steinmeier

b.      Filnavn: Billede 088

Tekst: Gredstedbro Church was inaugruated in 1925.

Foto: Jernved Sognearkiv

c.       Filnavn: Billede 033
Tekst: Vestergade in the 1950s.

Foto: Jernved Sognearkiv

d.      Filnavn: Billede 006
Tekst: Gredstedbro Co-operative Society in 1903.

e.       Lokal-placering