Vreta Abbey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vreta Abbey, active from the early 1100s to 1582, was the first nunnery in Sweden, initially Benedictine and later Cistercian, and one of the oldest in Scandinavia. It was located in the municipality of Linköping in Östergötland.
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[edit] History
The exact year of the foundation is not known. The abbey was founded by King Inge I of Sweden (d. 1110) and Queen Helena[1] on the orders of Pope Paschal II (1099-1118), so it was founded during the first decade of the 12th century. In the following decade King Inge the Younger and Queen Ulvhild made large donations to it.
Vreta Abbey was a house of nuns of the Order of Saint Benedict until 1162, when it was turned into a Cistercian nunnery. The first Cistercian abbess was Ingegerd, sister of Charles VII. A second sister, Helena of Sweden, widow of Canute V of Denmark, entered Vreta as a nun after being widowed in 1157, and other members of the Swedish and Danish royal fimialies were also here. It was a prestigious establishment, thought to be the burial place of the kings Inge the Younger, Filip Halstensson and Ragnvald Knaphövde. It served as a school for daughters of the nobility, and was the scene of the famous Maiden Abduction from Vreta.
Vreta was the mother house of Askeby Abbey near Linköping, Riseberga Abbey in Närke and Solberga Abbey in Gotland.
The buildings burned down in the early 1200s, but were rebuilt, and a new church was dedicated in the presence of Magnus Ladulås and Queen Helvig of Holstein in 1289.
After 1527, as a result of the Reformation the abbey was forbidden to accept any new novices. In 1536 the king, Gustav Vasa, gave the abbey and its assets to Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa, the mother of the Roman Catholic Queen consort Margareta Leijonhufvud. The last abbess died in 1538, and the last nuns left the buildings in 1562.
[edit] Site and buildings
The church was continued in use as a Lutheran parish church and still stands today, distinguished by its possession of a medieval hagioscope. The remaining buildings were mostly allowed to fall into ruin.
Between 1916 and 1926 the ruins were excavated, and large portions to the north of the church, which was itself restored between 1914 and 1917, remain visible. The finds, including an unusual wooden waterpipe, are on display in the adjoining museum.
Apart from the church, the only monastic building completely preserved is the barn, although some walls were reconstructed in the 20th century. The stones from the former refectory were used to build the tower of Linköping Cathedral.
 Restored walls |
 Restoration: day room and chapter room |
 Restoration: day room with stairs to dormitory |
 Restored walls |
[edit] References
- Sixten Dahlquist: Ett kyrkligt och kulturellt centrum, Vreta klosters hembygdsförening, 1956, ISSN 0348-9086
- Erik Lundberg: Vreta kloster - Svenska fornminnesplatser nr 6, Almqvist & Wiksell, Stockholm, 1964
- Gustaf-Adolf Andræ: Klosterbrev från Vreta - Verklighet och fantasi (1975), Noteria tryckeri, Klockrike, 1999, ISBN 91-85694-91-6
- Gustaf-Adolf Andræ: Det hände i klostret - År och människor vid klostret i Vreta, Noteria förlag, Klockrike, 1981, 1998, ISBN 91-85694-12-6
- Dick Harrison: Jarlens sekel, Ordfronts förlag, Stockholm 2002, ISBN 91-7324-999-8
- Föreningen klosterliv i Vreta: Klosterliv i Vreta - Förhistoria, andligt liv, daglig strävan, klostrets byggnader, nunnor och annat folk, LTAB, Linköping, 2003 (2:a uppl.), ISBN 91-630-6927-X
[edit] External links
- Riksantikvarieämbetet: Vreta kloster 2006 (Swedish)
- Cistercienserkloster längs Eriksgatan i Östergötland (Swedish)
- Eskilstunakistan och Stenkilska gravkoret i Vreta (Swedish)
- Vreta kloster och kyrka (Bengans historiesidor) (Swedish)
- Se er om i Vreta kloster! (images) (Swedish)
- Föreningen Klosterliv i Vreta (Swedish)
