Vreta Abbey
Encyclopedia
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, initially Benedictine and later Cistercian, and one of the oldest in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. It was located in the municipality of Linköping
Linköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
in Östergötland
Östergötland
Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...
.
History
The exact year of the foundation is not known. The abbey was founded by King Inge the Elder of Sweden and Queen Helena on the orders of Pope Paschal IIPope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
, which gives a date range for the foundation: Paschal became pope in 1099; the date of Inge's death is disputed, but probably occurred around 1105 or a little later. In the following decade King Inge the Younger and Queen Ulvhild
Ulvhild
Ulvhild Haakonardottir, , , was a medieval Scandinavian queen, queen consort of Sweden twice and queen consort of Denmark once , married to King Inge II of Sweden, King Niels of Denmark and King Sverker I of Sweden...
made large donations to it.
Vreta Abbey was a house of Benedictine nuns until 1162, when it was turned into a Cistercian nunnery. The first Cistercian abbess was Ingegerd, sister of Charles VII
Charles VII of Sweden
Charles "VII" also Carl , or Karl Sverkersson in Swedish , was ruler of Gothenland, and then King of Sweden from circa 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated....
. A second sister, Helena of Sweden
Helena of Sweden
Helena Sverkersdotter of Sweden, , was a medieval Swedish princess and Danish queen, Queen consort of King Canute V of Denmark.-Biography:Helena, or Elin as she was also called, was born daughter of King Sverker I of Sweden...
, widow of Canute V of Denmark
Canute V of Denmark
Canute V of Denmark was a Swedish prince and King of Denmark from 1146 to 1157, as co-regent in shifting alliances with his Sweyn III and Valdemar I. Canute was killed at the so-called Bloodfeast of Roskilde in 1157. Nothing certain is known about his person and character.-Biography:Canute was...
, entered Vreta as a nun after being widowed in 1157, and other members of the Swedish and Danish royal families were also here. In the 13th century, Princess Helena Sverkersdotter of Sweden
Princess Helena Sverkersdotter of Sweden
Helena Sverkersdotter of Sweden was a Swedish princess and abbess, daughter of King Sverker II of Sweden and the mother of Queen Catherine of Sweden. She was also the Abbess of Vreta Abbey.- Biography :...
were among its abbesses. Vreta Abbey has entered folklore as the scene during the 13th century of a number of prominent abductions of girls for marriages disapproved of by their families.
It was a prestigious establishment, and the church is the burial place of kings Inge the Elder and the Younger, Philip of Sweden, Magnus II and princes Ragnvald (son of Inge the Elder) and Sune, plus according to an older source the latter's young nephews, Alf and Boleslaw Johansson. It served as a school for daughters of Sweden's ruling families and nobility.
Vreta was the mother house of Askeby Abbey near Linköping
Linköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
, Riseberga Abbey in Närke
Närke
' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwest, and Värmland to the northwest...
and Solberga Abbey
Solberga Abbey
Solberga Abbey , was a Cistercian nunnery in Sweden, in operation from 1246 until at least 1469. It was located outside Visby on Gotland until 1404, and then in Visby. It was the only nunnery ot the island of Gotland....
in Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
.
The buildings burned down in the early 13th century, but were rebuilt, and a new church was dedicated in the presence of King Magnus Ladulås and Queen Hedwig in 1289.
After 1527, as a result of the Reformation
Protestant 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...
the abbey was forbidden to accept any new novices, but was otherwise treated very leniently. It continued in use as a school for daughters of the nobility and a retirement place for old noblewomen, and in 1529, the King allowed the last abbess, Sigrid Botholfsdotter (d. 1538), to buy it, and its activities continued undisturbed. In 1536 the King Gustav Vasa gave the abbey and its assets to his Roman Catholic mother-in-law Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa
Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa
Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa , was a Swedish noble. She was the mother of Queen Margaret Leijonhufvud and King Märta and mother-in-law of King Gustav Vasa....
, the mother of the Queen consort Margareta Leijonhufvud, also a Roman Catholic; Ebba Eriksdotter spent her last years here and died in 1549. There were still nuns here in 1562, and the last two of whom, Brita Gisledotter and Kirstin Månsdotter, died in 1582.
Vreta Abbey's remaining church now belongs to the Church of Sweden
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. With 6,589,769 baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran church in the world, although combined, there are more Lutherans in the member churches of...
.
Site and buildings
The church continued in use as a Lutheran parish church and still stands today, distinguished by its possession of a medieval hagioscopeHagioscope
A hagioscope or squint, in architecture, is an opening through the wall of a church in an oblique direction, to enable the worshippers in the transepts or other parts of the church, from which the altar was not visible, to see the elevation of the host.Hagioscopes were also sometimes known as...
. 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
Refectory
A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
were used to build the tower of Linköping Cathedral
Linköping Cathedral
The Linköping Cathedral is a church in the Swedish city of Linköping. The cathedral is the seat for the bishop in the Church of Sweden Diocese of Linköping. It is situated opposite Linköping Castle.-History:...
.