Stubber Monastery - Claustrum Stubbetorp

At least since 1268, when it was mentioned the first time, under the name "Claustrum Stubbetorp", there was a monastery / cloister at the western lakeside of the elongated "Stubbegård Sø" in northern Jutland. During the middle ages this nunnery of the Benedictine Order, was associated with the Bishop of Ribe.

The site is located not far away from the Limfjord which devides northern Jutland, within the triangle of the danish towns Skive, Holstebro and Viborg.

When new Ideas, philosophies and discoveries, by famous people like Martin Luther, Johannes Gutenberg or Christopher Columbus, caused the transition process from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance period, the importance of the Claustrum Stubbetorp began to cease.

During the political and religious stuggle of the Count's Feud (Grevens Fejde), the monastery at Stubbegård Sø was looted three times. Soon after the reunification of Denmark in the summer of 1536, King Christian III. established protestantismus as the new state religion. Accompanying the shift of the religious system, all Church property fell to the danish crown, which also included the monasterys and iniciated the downfall of the monastery system in Denmark. In 1538 the crown gave the cloister to the faithful Duke Iver Juel, under the precondition, that he had to support the remaining sisters living at Stubber Monastery, until the end of their life on earth.

In the following centuries the former monastery changed owners several times, which was often accompanied by processes of rebuildings and alterations. But somewhere in time the facility finally began to fall into disrepair. The last remnants of the cloister were demolished in the 1870s. But this former Institution was still mentioned on maps from the late 19th century as "Ruin Stubbergaard".
Some years later, archaeologists became aware of this site and began to examine the traces of "Stubbegård Kloster" and it's former inhabitants. The medieval monastery was originally much larger, then one might expect from its modern appearance. Today, the northern part of the former west wing stands in as the only remaining structure from the Monastery's main building. The clearly modern roof construction is not a reconstruction of the former appearance, but a protective and weatherproof layer to cover the medieval basement. Archaeologists expect that this vault was originally the basement of a two storeys high building. The red brick building consisted of four wings surrounding an inner courtyard.
The Monastery's complex also included a herb garden and a graveyard, which might been fenced by a stone wall.
Further traced of a small building were excavated not far from the lakeshore, that is interpreted as boat house.

Geoarchaeological survey's have shown evidence that the water level of the lake may have been higher than today. The higher level created a water surrounded island, for which reason the cloister was only accessible via an access bridge or by boat. In contrast, no further traces of defensive walls or trenches, have been found.
Today the former Monastery exhibits itself within the Landscape as a earthen plateau near the lake front, with a single brickbuilt structure. Changing the viewing angle, to a bird's eye view or a Digital Terrain Model (Source: https://sdfekort.dk/modules/mobile/), reveals structures still preserved beneath the soil.

When we visited the site, a trailing edge, created by an overturned tree, revealing a vast amount of building ceramics belonging to the former Monastery. On top of the tree log we found some archaeological finds, among them especially pottery shards of varying ceramic types and animal remains like bones and teeth, which some former visitors might have collected here.
As a professional archaeologist I am somewhat concerned about such behaviour. These objects are of particular importance for the archaeological research and are protected cultural heritage which should remain on site. As delightful it might be to follow your passion for archaeology and history, illegal digging will not only destroy parts of the archaeological heritage and the historic soil archive but also will affect negatively the relevance and significance of future excavations on site.
If you find prehistoric or historic artifacts, please leave them on site or take them carefully to the local museum or department, responsible for archaeological research in the area.

For further reading on the topic of reformation in Denmark and Germany, I highly recommend our recently published book: "Castles and Fortifications of the Reformation Period", where I had the honour to contribute an article myself, alongside a team of highly renowned Colleagues.

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Nikon D5300
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