Varnhem Abbey

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Varnhem Abbey ruins in foreground, with the reconstructed Abbey church in the background.

Varnhem Abbey in Varnhem, Västergötland, Sweden was founded around 1150 by monks of the Cistercian Order from Alvastra Abbey in Östergötland.

The Cistercian Order used the same floor plan for all its abbeys, which makes it possible to easily locate the different rooms and halls regardless of the building site.

1 History
2 Buried in Varnhem
3 Literature
4 See also

[edit] History

A wooden and a stone church were both erected on the site before the abbey was built. The stone church was erected in the 1040s at the latest, and is the oldest known stone church in Sweden (excluding Skåne). According to radiocarbon dating, the oldest Christian man buried there died in the period 780-970. From other radiocarbon evidence, the Christian burials seem to have begun during the 10th century.

The Varnhem Abbey was sponsored by the House of Eric which in turn was granted burial privileges there.

In 1234, the abbey was ruined by fire. The catastrophe led to a period of blooming, since Birger jarl and other mediaeval financiers rebuilt the abbey, this time more beautiful and imposing.

The abbey's property was confiscated in 1527, and the abbey buildings were burned by Danish forces 1566 during the Northern Seven Years' War. The church was restored during the 17th century by Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie, who established a family mausoleum in it, while the remaining abbey buildings were left to decay. The church was thoroughly restored 1911-1923. Archeological excavations of the central part of the abbey were made 1921-1929, and again 1976 and 1977.

Today, only the abbey church remains standing, surrounded by ruins. The number of tourists visiting Varnhem has grown manyfold due to Jan Guillou's books about Arn.