Finderup Barn

Midtjylland, Viborg · Denmark · Haunted site

On St Cecilia's night 1286 the king was found with 56 stab wounds in a barn — seven men, eight thrusts each, and no proof to this day.

On the night of 22 November 1286 King Erik Klipping took shelter in a barn at Finderup, southwest of Viborg. There he was killed. The body bore 56 stab wounds, which according to the Skänninge annals may mean seven men each stabbed the king eight times — a ritual, shared killing in which no single hand carried the whole guilt. At the assembly the following year nine men were outlawed for complicity, among them Count Jacob of Halland, Marshal Stig Andersen and the squire Rane Jonsen. Whether they were truly guilty is disputed to this day, and the murder became Denmark's most sung riddle in the folk ballads. The barn is long gone. What remains is a 2.7-metre granite cross raised in 1891, alone in a field where the wind cuts straight through and there is nothing else to see.

FAQ

Where is Finderup Barn located?

Finderup Barn is in Midtjylland, Viborg, Denmark.