Nonneseter Abbey, Oslo
Encyclopedia
Nonneseter Abbey, Oslo was a Benedictine nunnery located in Oslo
, Norway
.
was less harsh than that of many other monastic communities, in that it seems that the nuns were allowed to remain in residence for several decades, perhaps until the end of the 16th century. However, the abbey estates passed into other hands in 1547, from which time the buildings began to decay, and in 1616 the walls of the former abbey church were used as a quarry for building stone for the new town hall.
There are no visible remains. When Schweigaardsgate was re-developed in 1879, the corner of a building in worked stone was discovered, which was believed to be the south-west corner of the abbey church. Large portions of the rest of the church's remains may well have been destroyed during the construction of Schweigaardsgate 50 in 1887. Various other finds of stonework and skeletons in the area doubtless indicate possible sites of other remains.
set her character the young Kristin Lavransdatter
in the first volume, "Kransen", of the eponymous trilogy.
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
History
Nonneseter Abbey is mentioned for the first time in 1161, but was founded before that, possibly by as much as several decades previously. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The community quickly became wealthy under the leadership of influential abbesses from some of the country's highest-born families. Perhaps for this reason the fate of the nunnery under the ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was less harsh than that of many other monastic communities, in that it seems that the nuns were allowed to remain in residence for several decades, perhaps until the end of the 16th century. However, the abbey estates passed into other hands in 1547, from which time the buildings began to decay, and in 1616 the walls of the former abbey church were used as a quarry for building stone for the new town hall.
Site and buildings
The site of the abbey, and any remains, are apparently under the buildings at Schweigaardsgate 55 and Grønlandsleiret 73.There are no visible remains. When Schweigaardsgate was re-developed in 1879, the corner of a building in worked stone was discovered, which was believed to be the south-west corner of the abbey church. Large portions of the rest of the church's remains may well have been destroyed during the construction of Schweigaardsgate 50 in 1887. Various other finds of stonework and skeletons in the area doubtless indicate possible sites of other remains.
Literary reference
The abbey is perhaps best known as the place where the novelist Sigrid UndsetSigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.-Biography:Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism and became a lay Dominican...
set her character the young Kristin Lavransdatter
Kristin Lavransdatter
Kristin Lavransdatter is the common name for a trilogy of historical novels written by Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are Kransen , first published in 1920, Husfrue , published in 1921, and Korset , published in 1922...
in the first volume, "Kransen", of the eponymous trilogy.