Ulstrup Vicarage and Village on Røsnæs
In the village of Ulstrup on Røsnæs the Golden Age painter J.Th. Lundbye stayed with local farmers in 1843 and 1847. Here he drew the people and farms of the area and painted the vicarage reflected in the water of St Laurentius’ Spring. The site is landmark 9 of Lundbye Landmarks.
Out on Røsnæs lies the village of Ulstrup with its church and its old vicarage. During two longer stays the Danish Golden Age painter J.Th. Lundbye lodged with farmers in the village, and the site is landmark 9 of Lundbye Landmarks. The landmark post stands at the entrance to the vicarage on the road Ulstrup Sønderstrand, about 40 metres south of Røsnæsvej by Ulstrup Church.
Lundbye in Ulstrup
The first time was in August and September 1843, when Lundbye spent around ten days on a farm in Ulstrup. He returned in June 1847 and stayed three weeks with a farming family in the village. His brother Honoratius worked at Røsnæsgården further out on the peninsula. In letters and diaries Lundbye wrote about rural culture and the people he met, among them the village schoolteacher and an old cowherd. The landscape thrilled him, while in 1847 he was more disappointed by his encounters with the local people.
The stays produced a series of drawings and watercolours of the people and farms of the area, including a portrait of the 73-year-old Hans Berthelsen of Ulstrup. The main work is Ulstrup Præstegaard from June 1847, an oil study on paper that now belongs to Kalundborg Museum. It shows a wing of the vicarage reflected in the water of St Laurentius’ Spring (Sct. Laurentii Kilde).
The spring and the village today
St Laurentius’ Spring was once believed to have healing powers, and people came from far and wide to fetch its water, which is why Ulstrup Church was known as a healing church. Today the spring runs in pipes through the vicarage garden and reappears on the other side of the road a little further down Ulstrup Sønderstrand, from where it can be followed down to the sea. The wing in Lundbye’s picture has been demolished and the farm where he stayed in 1847 no longer exists, but several of the older houses in the village were already standing when he came.
The vicarage is a private home with no public access, so the site is experienced from the road by the landmark post. From here it is not far to the coast and the other landmarks on Røsnæs. Find more inspiration for nature and experiences on the peninsula at destinationsjaelland.dk.
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