Fjenneslev Church

According to historical sources, Fjenneslev was the Hvide dynasty’s ancestral homestead. Any place name in Danish that ends with ‘-lev’ predates the Viking era. It is said that Skjalm Hvide was buried in the first Fjenneslev Church, but was removed to Sorø Abbey Church, which was built as a family church. The present Fjenneslev church was raised by his son Asser Rig around 1130. The church has not one but two towers – according to legend Asser was called to war as the church was being built, and he therefore asked his pregnant wife Inge, granddaughter of Knut the Holy to raise a tower if she got a boy and spire if it was a girl. Thus he would see the result from afar as he returned home. When he saw the two towers, he realized that Inge had given him twin sons, Absalon and Esbern Snare. Actually it’s no more than a great yarn, because we know that they weren’t twins and that the towers were built later than the church itself. At the cemetery, to the left of the church porch is a rune stone, dated to the end of the Viking Age, which states: “Sasser raised this stone and made [ie built] the bridge.” The name Asser was often given an S prefix for reasons unclear to us; so it’s tempting to believe that this is the renowned Asser Rig who, apart from the church, also built a bridge. The stone probably originally stood at the site by Tuel Å River just 4km away, which still bears the name Sasserbro – ‘(s)Aasser’s Bridge’.