a young child were found in the marsh, dating to the Nordic Iron Age. Afterwards, remains of a settlement were discovered when building Engdalsvej. During these excavations, traces of dwellings were discovered with preserved stone pavings and pits from the pre-Roman Iron Age. A plan was drawn up for nature and countryside preservation by Naturplan APS for the Municipality of Hinnerup and the County of Aarhus in 1991. In 1992, the Municipality of Hinnerup and the County of Aarhus (which no longer exists) began implementing various initiatives to safeguard the natural values of the marsh. It is possible to walk the entire length of the marsh following paths between Hinnerup and Søften. Søften Church Location and development The Søften Church is one of the oldest Danish buildings and lies on a west-facing slope, where the terrain opens into the valley. The church was originally erected in the late 12th century with later additions over the centuries. Søften church consists of a Romanesque chancel and nave with two Late Gothic additions: a porch at the south door and to the west tower. The Romanesque section was built between 1500-1200 of rough, hewn travertine, split granite boulders as well as bryozoan limestone. Mainly clay seems to have been used as a binding agent. A cross-vault was constructed c. 1462 in the chancel as were three vaulting bays in the nave. During the church’s restoration by the architect M.B. Fritz in 1928, the tower gable and the windows from 1898 were reconstructed. The wall paintings in the vaulting of the church from the 1460s have the armorial bearings of the Bishop of Aarhus Jens Iversen Lange (1449–82). The nave decoration is from the end of the 15th century, while the tower is most likely came afterwards. Church furniture of note, aside from the Romanesque baptismal font, is a pulpit dating from 1572-88 bearing the arms of King Frederik II and his Queen, a bell from 1656, an altarpiece from 1859, a sepulchral tablet from 1663 potentially crafted by the Aarhus carver Rasmus Christensen. There was once a clear view over the fields and meadows into Nørreris Forest in the 1960s, but the view is now limited by modern-day houses. History After the Reformation, the patronage rights of the church belonged to King Frederik III until the 25.th of September 1661, when it was transferred to Morgens Friis Favrskov. In 1672, when Frijsenborg county