Geschichte:
Spøttrup omtales første gang i skriftlige kilder 1404, da ridderen Johan Skarpenberg skødede gården til Viborgbispen, som lod den bestyre af en foged. Hvordan gården da tog sig ud er uvist. Ifølge de seneste undersøgelser er det stående anlæg opført af Viborgbispen Jørgen Friis o. 1520 eller muligvis påbegyndt af forgængeren Erik Kaas. Borgen blev angiveligt afbrændt 1534 under Grevens Fejde (1534-1536), og overgik ved reformationen 1536 til Kronen. 1579 kom Spøttrup i privat eje men blev 1937 købt af staten, herefter restaureret og omdannet til museum.
Spøttrup is mentioned in written sources for the first time in 1404 when the knight Johan Skarpenberg sold the manor to the bishop of Viborg who left a bailiff in charge of the estate. How the manor looked and where it was situated at that time is unknown. According to the latest surveys of the standing structure it was built by the bishop Jørgen Friis around 1520 or possibly commenced by his predecessor Erik Kaas. Apparently the castle was set on fire in 1534 during the Counts Quarrel (1534-1536) and was taken over by the Crown after the Reformation in 1536. In 1579 Spøttrup became private property. It was purchased by the Government in 1937 and subsequently restored and transformed into a museum. (H. M. Møller Nielsen)
Bauentwicklung:
Det middelalderlige Spøttrup (32,5 x 35,4 m) bestående af tre sammenbyggede teglstensfløje, der på den fjerde side lukkedes af en spærremur med porttårn i midten, anses for at være påbegyndt o. 1520 og færdigbygget i løbet af årtiet. De vældige ydre forsvarsværker i form af volde, grave og portbygning regnes for oprindelige. Byggeriet startede med sydfløjen og disponeredes fra starten med en øst- og vestfløj, hvoraf sidstnævnte imidlertid aldrig blev opført men erstattet af spærremur og porttårn. Borgen ombyggedes endnu i middelalderen; den vestligste del af nordfløjen blev som følge af sætningsproblemer nedrevet og erstattet af en forlængelse af spærremuren, mens vinduerne mod graven i nord- og sydfløjen i omfattende grad blev tilmuret eller omdannet til skoldehuller og skydeskår. Denne opgradering af borgens militære egenskaber på bekostning af boligstandarden må være sket i forbindelse med Grevens Fejde 1534-36, hvorunder Spøttrup angiveligt blev afbrændt. En omfattende renæssanceombygning i 1560’erne og senere satte igen boligforholdene i centrum.
The construction of medieval Spøttrup (32.5 x 35.4 m) which included three adjoining wings in brick and on the fourth side a barrier wall with a gate tower in the middle is regarded as set out around 1520 and completed during the decade. The enormous outer earthworks in the shape of ramparts, moats and a gatehouse are regarded as original though restored features. Building started out with the south wing and was from the start planned to include an east- as well as a west wing. The west wing was however never built but replaced by a barrier wall with a gate tower. The castle was rebuilt before the end of the Middle Ages; due to problems with the stability of the foundations the western part of the north wing was pulled down and replaced by a barrier wall while the windows towards the moat in the north and south wings were largely bricked up or transformed into murder holes and loops. This upgrading of the military features of the castle at the expense of the residential qualities must have happened in relation to the Counts Quarrel (1534-1536) during which the castle allegedly was set on fire. A thorough renaissance rebuilding during the 1560s and later brought about an improvement of the residential standards of the castle. (H. M. Møller Nielsen)
Baubeschreibung:
Spøttrup, der er en af Danmarks bedst bevarede verdslige bygninger fra den sene middelalder (32,5 x 35,4), bestod i middelalderen af tre sammenbyggede fløje, der på den fjerde side lukkedes af en spærremur med porttårn i midten. Alle bygninger rejstes i tegl. Borgen rejste sig direkte af en indre op til 24 m bred voldgrav med vindebro og var herudover beskyttet af en op til 9 m høj og op til 34 m bred vold, en ydre op til 13 m bred voldgrav med vindebro og en lav ydre vold. Mod vest stødte anlægget op til den nu udtørrede Spøttrup sø. I hovedvolden fandtes en overhvælvet portgennemgang, muligvis med øvre stokværk, flankeret udvendigt af to små tårne. På portens nordside fandtes et kasematlignende rum i volden. Porten var forsvundet ved midten af 1700-tallet men er rekonstrueret på bevarede fundamenter. Af borgens bygninger opførtes sydfløjen først (32,5 x 9,5 m, ydermuren er 1,7 m tyk). Fløjen har spor efter en samtidig planlagt østfløj og en aldrig opført vestfløj. Sydfløjen var oprindeligt indrettet med kælder hvorover to stokværk, heraf det nedre hvælvet, samt et øvre skyttestokværk. Kælderen og første stokværk har stort set ikke været belyst og må have fungeret som magasinrum. Det andet stokværk rummede borgherrens og måske fogedens beboelse i form af en større og mindre lejlighed med adgang fra udvendig svale, vinduer mod graven, hemmeligheder med udvendig faldskakt med afløb i voldgraven samt kaminer. Der er formentlig ikke gået lang tid, før øst- og nordfløjen opførtes. Spærremur og porttårn samt de to fløje synes at udgøre én byggefase, hvor dog ydermurene mod graven er rejst først. Øst- og nordfløjen var indrettet med hvælvede kældre hvorover et enkelt stokværk med adgang fra udvendig svale samt et øvre skyttestokværk. Østfløjens første stokværk rummede en større sal med kamin samt et mindre rum med kamin og afløb i gulvet, der er foreslået som badstue. I nordfløjens kælder fandtes brønd og udslagsvask for mulige køkkenfunktioner, mens borgens kapel er foreslået placeret i den overliggende etage. Også fra borgens skyttelofter var der adgang til hemmeligheder. Porttårnet i vestsidens spærremur var indrettet med spidsbuet portgennemgang forsynet med skydeskår, et overhvælvet første stokværk med kamin, et overliggende stokværk med kamin samt et øvre skyttestokværk. Spærremuren rummede en ovedækket vægtergang. Endnu i middelalderen blev især syd- og nordfløjen væsentligt ombygget. I sydfløjen blev vinduerne mod graven tilmuret eller omdannet til skoldehuller og skydeskår, skydeskår tilføjedes i porttårnet, og den vestligste del af nordfløjen blev nedrevet til fordel for en forlængelse af spærremuren. Vinduerne mod graven blev tilmuret, og i fløjens kælder indrettedes et regulært køkken med ildsted og ovn. Nedrivningen af nordfløjens vestlige del var betinget af sætningsskader, mens flertallet af de øvrige ændringer kun kan opfattes som en opgradering af borgens forsvar og en samtidig forringelse af boligstandarden. Ved en senere renæssanceombygning blev anlæggets boligstandard igen højnet.
Spøttrup which is one of the best preserved Danish secular buildings of the later Middle Ages (32.5 x 35.4 m) included three adjoining wings and on the fourth side a barrier wall with a gate tower in the middle. All structures were built of brick. The castle rose from an inner up to 24 metres wide moat with a drawbridge surrounded by a very steep up to 9 metres high and up to 34 metres wide rampart, an outer up to 13 metres wide moat with a drawbridge and a lower outer rampart. To the west the earthworks were edged by the Lake Spøttrup (now drained). In the main rampart was a vaulted gateway, possibly with an upper floor, flanked at the entrance by two small towers. To the north of the gateway the rampart held a subterranean room. The gate had disappeared by the mid 18th century but based on the preserved foundations it has been re-established. Building started out with the south wing (32.5 x 9.5 m, the wall facing the moat is 1.7 m thick) which shows traces of a planned east wing and a planned but never realised west wing. Originally the south wing held a basement below two floors and an upper defence storey. The basement and the first floor which was vaulted had almost no natural light and must have served as store rooms. The second floor held two apartments, a smaller and a bigger, accessed from an outside gallery. The apartments which had windows towards the moat, privies with outside draining channels and fireplaces probably served as the accommodation of the bishop and perhaps his bailiff. Before long the east and north wings were built. The barrier wall and the gate tower as well as the two wings seem to represent one building phase though firstly the outside walls were constructed. The east and north wing held vaulted basements below a single storey, accessed from an outside gallery, and an upper defence storey. The main floor of the east wing contained a hall with fireplace and a smaller room with a fireplace and a drain in the floor. The latter has been suggested as the bath of the castle. The basement of the north wing had a well and a sink probably for various kitchen and scullery activities while the chapel of the castle has been suggested on the main floor. The defence storeys of all three wings had access to privies. The gate tower had a pointed gateway provided with loops, two upper storeys with fireplaces and an upper defence storey. The barrier wall contained a roofed battlement. Before the end of the Middle Ages the castle was rebuilt especially the north and south wings. In the south wing the windows towards the moat were largely bricked up or converted into murder holes and loops. An additional loop was added in the gate tower and the western part of the north wing was pulled down and replaced by an extension of the barrier wall. The windows towards the moat were bricked up and a proper kitchen with fireplace and oven was fitted out in the basement. The demolition of the western part of the north wing was caused by problems with the stability of the foundations but most of the other changes reflect an upgrade of the military features of the castle and a subsequent decline of the residential qualities. During a later renaissance rebuild the residential standards were improved. (H. M. Møller Nielsen)
Arch-Untersuchung/Funde:
Omfattende restaurering 1938-1944 ved Mogens Clemmensen assisteret af Arne Nystrøm. Nyere bygningsarkæologiske undersøgelser ved Mogens Vedsø (Vedsø, Spøttrup (1986)).
A thorough restoration conducted by Mogens Clemmensen assisted by Arne Nystrøm was carried out from 1938 to 1944. Later surveys of the building have been done by Mogens Vedsø (Vedsø, Spøttrup (1986).
