Børglum Abbey

The abbey quickly became prominent, perhaps with the help of royal patronage, and set up a seminary, where many noble families sent at least one of their sons to study.

Besides being the biggest landowner in North Jutland, the bishop was ex officio part of the State Council which advised the King of Denmark on domestic and international policy.

A flat timber ceiling and the absence of windows would have made it dark, but the massive walls would have prevented the cold winds and storms off the North Sea, just a few miles to the west, from penetrating the building.

Hans Christian Andersen wrote a version of the old folk legend 'The Bishop of Borglum and his Men' which recounts the murder of Bishop of Borglum, Oluf Glob, and several companions by his nephew, Jens Glob, in front of the altar at Hvidebjerg Church on Thy Island in 1206.

In May 1403, Pope Boniface IX gave dispensation to the canons at Børglum to alter their white habits to black, brown or any other dark color, due to the abbey's "being a place near the sea with frequent floods and the resulting mud."

Bodil's sacred spring which was a religious site back in Viking times was believed to have healing power.

The last bishop of Vendsyssel (and abbot of Børglum) was Stygge Krumpen, who was unable to halt the advance of the Lutheran reforms.

He was given the former nunnery of Asmild Abbey, near Viborg, as an estate, on the condition that he make provision for the care of the nuns who after its dissolution in 1536 had no other place to go.

The entry for January 19, 1764, notes that a box was sent by mail, containing gunpowder and a firelock which set fire to it, severely injuring the colonel.

A local nobleman, Godslev Budde, received permission from Frederik II to demolish the incomplete transepts and enclose the church in the original basilica form.