Hømlund Kro and the Innkeepers

Although the Danish border station was housed in the inn, the innkeepers were not protected. The innkeeper was arrested and spent 10 days in the German detention center in Toftlund.

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Hømlund Kro (Inn)

Søren Hansen Petersen bought Hømlund Kro in the 1850s. At the time, it was situated at Toftlundvej 78. As the inn was run-down, he had it demolished and moved to Toftlundvej 82. In 1860, his daughter, Maren Kristiane, and her husband, Jendre Peder Nissen, took over the inn, which had a barn, a stable, and an extra stable that travellers could use.

Hømlund Kro ca 1912-1914. Foto: Historisk Arkiv for Seem Sogn Postcard from Hømlund Kro. In the middle stands the customs official Marius Thomsen Lund and on the right a border gendarme. The innkeeper couple Michael and Elske Jepsen, who bought the inn in 1912, are standing in front of the flagpole. The picture probably dates from 1913-1914.

The innkeeper in German captivity

Their son, Jens Nissen, took over the inn. In the early years of the 1900s, he was in the German authorities’ spotlight and was arrested while crossing the border in 1911, spending 10 days in the German jailhouse in Toftlund.

Michael and Elske Jepsen bought Hømlund Kro in 1912 and occasionally helped Danish-minded Germans.

After the Reunification

Following Michael’s demise in 1935, his widow kept the inn going until their son, Claus Bennedsen Jepsen, and his wife, Marianne Blume Schmidt, took over.

The inn closed down completely in 1960. The stable, barn and part of the main building were destroyed by fire in 1972, and a new residence was built further back from the road.