Riseberga Abbey (), was a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

nunnery A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Comm ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, in operation from circa 1180 until 1534. It was located near Fjugesta 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 sou ...

. It had the right to appoint the vicar of the Edsberg parish, which was under the jurisdiction of the abbey. The ruins of the buildings are preserved, and the

Amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

of the abbey are presently used as a

Sylvan theater A sylvan theater—sometimes called a greenery theater () (also spelt theatre, see British and American spelling differences, spelling differences)—is a type of Outdoor theatre, outdoor theater situated in a wooded (sylvan) setting. Often ador ...

History

Riseberga Abbey was founded in the late 12th-century: it is confirmed from at least 1180. It was benefited by

Birger Brosa Birger Brosa (Old Norse: ''Birgir Brósa''; died 9 January 1202) was the Swedish jarls, jarl of Sweden from 1174 to 1202. Biography He was a son of Bengt Snivil and a member of the powerful House of Bjälbo. In medieval texts, he is either cal ...

and his second consort queen dowager Bridget Haraldsdotter, who made large donations to it: the latter joined the convent after having been widowed in 1202. The abbey eventually became a large landowner through donations. In 1212, it was granted all confiscated property of convicted criminals for crimes committed in the area. Riseberga was placed under the administration of Julia and Alvastra monastery. Most of the members were females, but it had a minority of male members to assist the nuns: the males, however, lived outside of the walls of the convent. Riseberga was located isolated in the wilderness, and both nuns and monks of the community are known to have occasionally lived as hermits in the area around the convent. The abbey had the right to appoint the vicars of the Edsberg parish. In the 1340s,

Saint Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden, OSsS ( – 23 July 1374), also known as Birgitta Birgersdotter and Birgitta of Vadstena (), was a Swedish Catholic mystic and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside Sweden, she was also known as the Princess of Nericia ...

placed her daughter Ingeborg as a novice in the abbey: another one of her daughters,

Catherine of Vadstena Catherine of Sweden, Katarina av Vadstena, Catherine of Vadstena or Katarina Ulfsdotter (c. 1332 – 24 March 1381) was a Swedish noblewoman. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. Her father was Ulf Gudmarsson, Lord of Ulvås ...

, was educated here.

Dissolution

By the

Swedish Reformation The Reformation in Sweden is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden, but the process was slow and was not definitively decided until the Uppsala Synod of 1593, in the wake of an attempted Counter-Re ...

of 1527 and in accordance with the

Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden The Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden, was an important reform during the Protestant Swedish Reformation, in which king Gustav I of Sweden ordered a reduction in church property and the return of land to the crown, making the national church depend ...

, Catholic convents were confiscated by the crown and banned from accepting new novices, while the existing members were allowed to leave the convent or remain supported by a royal allowance. In 1534, the remaining members of the abbey left after having applied to be received by a convent abroad. The buildings burnt down in 1546, and was thereafter long used as a quarry.

Abbesses

The abbesses are only partially known. * Ragnfrid (14th-century) * Märta Ydsdotter * Helena Gisladotter * Margareta * Greta (circa 1378-1384) * Ragnhild (1437) * Kunigunda (15th-century) * Christina Pedersdotter (1508) * Dorotea (1515)

Legacy

Riseberga is the place of the legend of '' Fair Elisif''.

References

Uppgifter från Riksantikvarieämbetets byggnadsregister
*
Susning: RisebergaGuidning vid Riseberga klosterområde
*Edsberg 30:1, Riksantikvarieämbetet.

*http://sok.riksarkivet.se/?Sokord=riseberga+kloster+abbedissa&f=True&EndastDigitaliserat=false&Fritext=&Namn=&Ort=&DatumFran=&DatumTill=&AvanceradSok=False *Agneta Conradi Mattsson: ''Riseberga kloster, förutsättningar och framväxt, Birger Brosa, donatorn, & Filipssönerna, sondottersönerna'' {{Authority control Cistercian nunneries in Sweden 12th-century establishments in Sweden 1180 establishments in Europe Christian monasteries established in the 1180s Medieval history of Sweden Monasteries dissolved under the Swedish Reformation Lekeberg Municipality