Vilslev – where the river Kongeå meets the Wadden Sea

In Vilslev parish, the river Kongeå runs into the Wadden Sea. Vilslev has been a customs office and the parish has been divided between the Kingdom of Denmark and the German duchies.

Vilslev Spang

When you follow the river’s south bank from the valley Kongeådal and go a few hundred metres to the west, you will come to the Vilslev Spang, which is actually located in Jedsted, but is just opposite Vilslev church. The site was formerly a hub of traffic over the western part of the river Kongeå, which was crossed by pedestrian traffic going between the market town of Ribe and villages of Darum, Tjæreborg and Jerne.

The wooden bridge was here; a tall, narrow pedestrian bridge, and by the bridge was the customs officer's house, inn and dyeworks together with a few other houses. Just east of the bridge was a ford where carriages could pass when the water level was not too high in the river.

Two provinces and two laws in the same parish

The unique aspect of Vilslev parish is that it includes parts of both North Jutland and South Jutland.

Jedsted belonged to the duchies, but some of the properties belonged to the Kingdom of Denmark and here the same laws applied as in Vilslev. The royal and Schleswig properties lay intermingled with each other in Jedsted. Danish law applied to some fields and in other fields the laws of Schleswig were applicable.

It could be hard to find your way around the complex border and legislative systems. The innkeeper at Vilslev Spang could not get a spirit license because the property was on royal land. But the neighbouring site was under Schleswig law, so when he bought a piece of it and built a taproom, he could get his license.

Some years later, a man who was born in the Spang inn, had his application for poor relief rejected from Vilslev parish because he came from Schleswig area. But the parish council had to change the decision, as the authorities agreed with the man's argument that it was likely that he was born in the bedroom, which was located on the royal area.

Customs controls

The customs inspector’s residence was just opposite the inn. From here the customs officials had to keep an eye on river all the way to the Wadden Sea. You can still see a sign with Frederik VII's monogram on the west gable of the house.

The most commonly smuggled goods were brandy and clothing from the south and bullocks and horses from the north. The farms with thwarts down to the river Kongeå in Vilslev were traded at higher prices because of their advantageous location for smuggling.

The church

Vilslev Church is from the latter half of the 1100s. The tower and the porch were added in the 1400s. The tower has quite an unusual located on the north side of the chancel, which was probably due to the soil conditions - but it gave it good and distinctive characteristic. A girl who had to walk from Lemvig to start her service in Jedsted, was given the route description that she just had to follow the coast south until she came to a church where the tower was at the wrong end.

Besides Vilslev and Jedsted, half of Hillerup’s residents frequented the church in Vilslev. Hillerup’s farms were randomly divided between Farup and Vilslev churches. But it was said that many men from Hillerup preferred the church in Vilslev because they had to go over the wooden bridge. You had to give a skilling to the landlord, unless you visited the inn and got a drink. So the majority felt that they were obliged to do so.

Bid 1

If you follow the river to the south west, you came to a small brick house by a riffle where there is also a wooden bridge over the creek. The house has the unusual name of ’Bid 1’.

There was previously a control that managed the dammed water to be let out into a channel system that provided water to the fields in Vilslev and Jedsted Enge. The sluice watchman slept in the small brick house and his job was to ensure he raised and lowered the water level using the planks that were put on top of each other in the sluice.

The meadows

The town’s cattle and sheep grazed in the meadows. The fattening of bullocks was a particularly important source of income. After the construction of the Ribe dike 1911-1915, it was possible to grow corn in the meadows. Previously the meadows were only used for grazing and haymaking. West of Bid 1, you can follow the summer dike on the north side of the river. Between the summer dike and the river is a border with wildlife and natural vegetation.

Kongeå sluice

In 1940, the river Kongeå was straightened out. Looking at olds map of Jedsted and Vilslev Enge, you can see a river that meanders in wide bays to the north and south. From the church and the west, you can see deep traces of the river’s bays or hooks (‘krog’), as they were called. The field names often refer to the winding course of the river; Skibskrog, Langkrog, Oldemorskrog, Pumpkrog and Vadkrog. Furthest out just before the dike, the hooks are still just visible although they have been dug up to form the new river course.

Dike trenches and foreland

Since the dike was raised and reinforced, its soggy trenches have become overgrown with dense reed beds, just as many dike trenches are completely concealed by reeds. In recent years this has led to flocks of starlings gathering here at night during migration periods and creating the black sun natural phenomenon. But geese and swans also spend the night in the coastal mudflats. In addition to the presence of birds, the dike and the foreland are characterised by grazing sheep throughout the summer months.

Author: Roll Præstegaard, Vilslev Jedsted Parish archives

Sources and literature:

Vilslev Jedsted Parish archives, see www.bricksite.com/vilslevjedsted