Gå til hovedindhold (Tryk Enter)

Memories of the Border near Vester Vedsted Church

Many refugees went through the Wadden Sea and used the churches as landmarks. When they saw the church tower in Vester Vedsted, they knew that they would soon be safe.

Vester Vedsted was one of the southernmost Danish municipalities with land that belonged to both the Duchy of Schleswig and the Kingdom of Denmark

The Vedstedgård Havn stock area was situated across from Vester Vedsted at one point in time. From here, Christian V sent 7,000 Danish assistant troops to England in 1689.

The border ran close to Sprækbro south of Fløjdiget from 1864 to 1920, and the graveyard next to Vester Vedsted Kirke, which was built from 1175 - 1200 approximately, has stories to tell of world wars and cross-border conflict.

Reverend Rosenstand

Speaking animatedly in favour of the Southern Jutlandic cause, Reverend Otto Rosenstand (1861-1929) was one of the principal organisers behind the Danish-minded Vester Vedsted Efterskole (i.e. an independent boarding school for lower secondary students). Today, the school, which opened in 1895, is a youth folk high school (i.e. a boarding school that provides non-formal education).

Border memorials

Tombstone of Quartermaster Christian Lautsen Jepsen (1865-1936)The Border Gendarmerie was established in 1866 to patrol the border, and on being pensioned its members often continued to live in the parish. In the graveyard, one can find the tombstones of Quartermaster Christian Lautsen Jepsen (1865-1936), Staff Sergeant Johan Bothmann (1827-1890) and Staff Sergeant Rasmus Hartvig Andersen (1848-1923). In fact, border stone no. 12, which marked the border south of Høm originally, has even been used as a burial memorial for the latter.

Denne gravsten over oversergent Rasmus Hartvig Andersen fungerede oprindeligt som grænsesten nr. 12 og stod syd for Høm. Det er usædvanligt, at begge hustruer er omtalt på samme gravsten. Foto: Charlotte Lindhardt.Sergeant Rasmus Hartvig Andersen's tombstone originally served as boundary stone No. 12 and stood south of Høm. It is unusual for both wives to be mentioned on the same tombstone. Photo: Charlotte Lindhardt.

 

A German soldier from WWI and an English pilot from WWII are also buried in the graveyard.

Unknown english pilot

During the First World War, a German soldier landed 300 meters from the road to Mandø. He was identified by labels in Viennese clothing and buried in the cemetery with an official German tombstone