Alvastra Monastery
| Cistercian Abbey of Alvastra | |
|---|---|
 Alvastra monastery ruins |
|
| location |
Sweden Östergötland County |
| Coordinates: | 58 ° 17 '47 " N , 14 ° 39' 13" E |
| Serial number according to Janauschek |
181 |
| founding year | 1143 |
| Year of dissolution / annulment |
1529 |
| Mother monastery | Clairvaux Monastery |
| Primary Abbey | Clairvaux Monastery |
|
Daughter monasteries |
Varnhem Monastery (1150) |
The Alvastra monastery ruins are located in the Swedish municipality of Ödeshög , which belongs to the historical province of Östergötland , about 25 kilometers south of the city of Vadstena on the east bank of Lake Vättern .
history
Alvastra was founded in 1143 at the instigation of Ulvhild Håkonsdatter , the wife of King Sverker the Elder , by French monks as a subsidiary of Clairvaux Primary Abbey and was the first Cistercian monastery in Scandinavia and the second oldest in Sweden. Monks from Clairvaux settled the Nydala monastery almost simultaneously . Daughter monasteries were founded by the Alvastra monastery in Varnhem , Julita and Gudsberga . The monastery complex followed the layout and architectural style typical of Cistercian monasteries of that time. Over time, the monastery developed into Sweden's largest ecclesiastical landowner.
In the middle of the 14th century, the woman, later venerated as St. Birgitta , came to the monastery with her husband. It is believed that she was inspired by the local monastery rules when she made her own monastery rules. In 1527 the monastery was secularized in connection with the Reformation and the property of the monastery was confiscated from the crown. In 1567 the building was badly damaged by the Danish army and then used as a quarry for Vadstena Castle and a castle on the island of Visingsö .
The first archaeological research was carried out in 1893, and extensive excavations took place between 1917 and the 1950s. Today the monastery is a protected and restored ruin.
Web links
- Alvastra Monastery - entry in the database "Fornsök" des Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish)
- Information of the Riksantikvarieämbetet (English)
- Alvastra Monastery in the Cistopedia - Encyclopædia Cisterciensis
Model of the Alvastra monastery
North gallery cloister
Individual evidence
- ^ H. Ehrhardt: Alvastra . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 1, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1980, ISBN 3-7608-8901-8 , Sp. 498.