Tranum church/Tranum kirke, Øster Han herred, Hjørring amt.

Tranum church,  ab. 10 km northeast of Fjerritslev, photo 2011: gb

Tranum parish, Øster Han herred, Hjørring amt. 

Tranum kirke was inaugurated to Sct. Nicolaus. It has a Romanesque choir and nave, a late Gothic west tower and a modern porch to the south. The Romanesque section is built in granite ashlars upon a bevelled plinth. The original doors are both straight-edged, the north door is glared. Two Romanesque windows are kept in the north side of the nave, while both choir windows and the two south windows of the nave are extended. A lintel is inserted in the north wall of the tower, another in the backside of the communion table. The broad round choir arch with profiled kragbånd was probably extended. The tower is built in monk bricks above a raw boulder base, and in the nottom of the tower built with ashlars from the west gable of the nave. The overvaulted toer room has to the south a rebated "basket-handle-curved" window, and a round arched, now partly glared opening connecting the room to the nave. Upon the north side of the tower leads an outside staircase up to a door in the middle storey. The bell storey has a round arched peephole at each side, except to the north. In the choir was in the late Middle Ages built a cross vault, and in the nave two octagonal vaults. The porch in yellow bricks was built in 1888 in connection to a restoration, where the south wall of the church was re-walled. The year 1763 upon the southside of the tower reminds about a former restoration. The walls of the church are blank, except the brickwall of the tower, which is white washed. The roof works are newer and tiled. The church has pretty old floors in yellow bricks - under the pews is a wooden floor.

Tranum church, photo: Google earth

Interior:
The granite communion table is partly covered by a panel from  the Renaissance period and an antepedium. The altar picture is a painting by F.Storch, painted in 1864 and inserted in a neo Gothic frame. The chalice is from 1770, given by *oberstinde Sophie Hedevig Brockdorff. Altar candelabres from the Baroque preriod. A Romanesque granite font with a triangular frieze and at the foot cross in arcade fields. A pulpit from the 1700s with carved openwork, plant motifs in the big fields, its decoration is an over-painting from 1800s. The pews possibly from 1888, they are oak-painted. In the church hangs a ship-model. The chandeliers are new replicas from Baroque chandeliers. An organ by A. Zachariassen, Århus, stand in the tower arch. The bell without inscription is from the 1400s.


* oberstinde is not her own job, she is married to an oberst (colonel).


Gravestones: 
In the flank walls of the porch are inserted three gravestones in granite, one with the year 1766. Several gravestones from the 1800s with pretty writing are set up at the sourhern dike. Upon a fenced burial place north of the church lie 6 gravestones for members of the family Møller from Tranum Strandgård, fx: Laur. Møller (+ 1796) and Bertel Møller (+ 1827).

Tranum klitplantage, photo 2011: gb

Bratbjerggård was in the late Middle Ages a nobility farm, to which fru Lisbeth Nielsdatter (+ earliest 1434) wrote herself. She was the widow after hr. Valdemar Albertsen (Eberstein)( + earliest 1423). In 1631 the Crown exchanged to Falk Falksen Gøye of Skærsø a farm called Bratbjerg, which ab. 1655 was divided into several farms. In 1662 were 3 farms(tenants), all under Bratskov. In 1688 was Nørre Bratbjerggård built with 3 farms. In 1784 they were divided in 6 almost equal sized peasant farms, still under Bratskov estate. In present time Bratbjerggård was sold in 1933 to Hanherreds udstykningsforening (outparcelling), which established 6 smallholdings. The main parcel was sold in 1934 to Th. Møller Thomsen, Bragesgård.

Tranum Strandgård, photo: Google earth.

From Tranum Strandgård was in the 1700s and 1800s carried on skudehandel, ship-trade with Norway. The farm was in 1762 owned by earlier manager at Bratskov, Poul Møller, who in 1777 bought Skovsgård (at Hobro), since owned by his son Laurids Møller, after whose death 1796 his brother Bertel Møller (+ 1827), who 1793-97 owned Lundergård, moved to Tranum and continued the ship-trade. He also married his brother's widow, Euphemia Jacobi Møller, née Hansen (+ 1831), who in 1827 deeded the farm with some houses and land to her son (of 1. marriage), Jørgen Møller (+ 1883), who in spite of his stepfathers' bankruptcy got the estate for free disposal.

In the parish are mentioned the settlements Dorklit (1463 Dorklytte) in Klithus mark, Rødbjerg (1688 Røedberg) and Dosemose (1664 Doeszmoese).

A considerable part of Tranum parish is taken by Tranum Klitplantage. which is owned by the Danish state.  


Listed prehistorics: 15 hills, all in the southern, high part of the parish. At Ejstrup lies the group Bavnehøj, 4 hills, of which two are rather large.
Demolished or destroyed:  22 hills.

Treasure find: 
In Tranum Klit was found a treasure from Germanic Iron Age with a silver fibula (broche), a gold finger ring, 96 glass pearls etc.

The author Johan Skjoldborg was teacher at Koldmose skole (closed in 1960)  in 1889-1902.

Names from the Middle Ages and 1600s: Tranum (1432 Tranom); Bratbjerg, Nr. and Sdr. Bratbjerg (1467 Bratbierg); Jarmsted (1487 Jernumstii, 1610 Jarmsti); Ejstrup (1470 Eyszdrup); Klithuse (1463 Klitthusze); Bratbjerggårde (1471 Bratbergis garth); Bækken (1688 Leerbechs Huuse); Underlien (1471 Norden under Lien); Snevergård (1688 Snefuer).


Source: Trap Danmark, Hjørring amt, 1960. 

photo Tranum 2011: grethe bachmann 
photo: borrowed from Google earth 2013/ gb