Vestervig Abbey - Reformation in Denmark

Reformation in Denmark

The abbey was dissolved in 1536 when Denmark became officially Lutheran. The monks either put off their habits and became local residents or left the country, perhaps south into Germany. The abbey became crown property and the properties which over the years had become part of the abbey estate were sold or given away. Several land owners purchased or inherited the property from that time.

Most of the abbey was destroyed by a fire in 1703. The story goes that a ship stranded on the coast Christmas Eve and Peder Moldrup/Mollerup, the miserly owner of the buildings of the abbey, received most of the salvage from the wreck. As valuables were forcibly taken from the captain, he blurted out "if our Christmas Eve is so terrible, then your New Year's Eve shall be worse." A store of paper found on the beach was hung out in the loft to dry. Moldrup's wife went to check on it on New Year's Eve, and the flame from the candle set the paper alight and the old abbey buildings, except the church, went up in flames. The sea captain's prophecy fulfilled.

After the destruction of St. Thøger's Church in 1752, the abbey church became the parish church for the town of Vestervig. The church tower has two bells still in use from the abbey days: one cast in 1513 by Sven Andersen and the other cast by an unknown bell maker from the 15th century.