Mariager Abbey

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Mariager Abbey was a Bridgettine monastery which became an important pilgrimage site in norther central Jutland.

Mariager Abbey was founded in 1430 on a hill overlooking the ferry across Mariager Fjord by Bridgettine monks. The Brigettine Order (Danish:Birgitterorden)was founded by St Bridget (Danish: Birgitte), who was born in Sweden in 1303. She believed that the church and especially the religious houses had fallen into laxity and needed to be renewed. Pope Urban VI recognized the rule of the Brigettines in 1370. The Order of Saint Savior, or Brigettines established first at Vadstena, Sweden and then 50 houses in Scandinavia, including two in Denmark, one at Mariager and Maribo.^[1]

Brigettine Abbeys were 'double abbeys' with both monks and nuns; the nuns were the focus of the abbey's life. Each abbey was to have 60 nuns ruled by an abbess. 13 monks lived in separate part of the abbey and served the local community and pilgrims as priests. Lay brothers also lived in the abbey to help with the daily work that needed to be done. The abbey and church were divided so that the nuns and monks never actually saw one another.^[2]

The nun's wore a gray wool habit with a white wimple and black veil held in place with a white band with five blood-red marks. Monks wore a gray habit with gray cloak with a red cross with the emblem of a communion wafer embroidered over it.

In time the abbey church became a pilgrimage site where people could come to receive absolution for their sins. The name Mariager (Maria's Field) was first used in 1446 when the pope officially recognized the establishment of the abbey. Nobles, merchants, and wealthy farmers began buying burial sites or building chapels, so they could be buried on the grounds of the abbey. The abbey received properties and donations from people for services. The town of Mariager grew up around the monastery which was influential in the region due to the many farms it owned.^[3]

During the Reformation the abbey became crown property, but was allowed to continue to operate until 1588. The north wing of the abbey church was transformed into a Lutheran parish church which is still in use, a partial reminder of the magnificent buildings that once stood on the hill above the fjord. The estates were sold or given away by the crown and the buildings fell into disrepair. In the 1720s most of the buildings were torn down and the materials used for repairing homes and farms. Mariager's influence was greatly reduced and at one time only 400 residents lived in the town.