Vreta Abbey (), in operation from the beginning of the 12th century to 1582, was the first

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 ...

, initially

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

and later

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 ...

, and one of the oldest in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. It was located in the present-day municipality of Linköping in

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

History

The exact year of the foundation is not known. The abbey was founded by King

Inge the Elder Inge the Elder ( Swedish: ''Inge Stenkilsson''; Old Norse: ''Ingi Steinkelsson''; died c. 1105–1110) was a king of Sweden. In English literature he has also been called ''Ingold''. While scant sources do not allow a full picture of his term of ...

of Sweden and

Queen Helena Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

on the orders of

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...

, 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 Inge the Younger was King of Sweden in c. 1110–c. 1125 and probably the youngest son of king Halsten.The article ''Inge d.y.'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1992).The article Inge, section 2. I. den yngre' in ''Nordisk familjebok'' (1910). Acco ...

and Queen Ulvhild made large donations to it. The original buildings burned down in the early 13th century, but were rebuilt, and a new church was dedicated in the presence of Magnus III and

Helvig of Holstein Helvig of Holstein (also known as Hedwig;Philip Line, ''Kingship and state formation in Sweden, 1130-1290'', BRILL, 2007, 9004155783, p. 390. – ) was Queen of Sweden as the consort of King Magnus Ladulås. Her parents were Gerhard I, Count o ...

in 1289. Vreta Abbey was a house of Benedictine nuns until 1162, when it was turned into a

Cistercian nunnery Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order of the Catholic Church. History The Cistercian Order was initially a male order. Cistercian female monasteries began to appear by 1125. The first Cistercian monastery ...

. The first Cistercian abbess was Ingegerd, sister of Charles VII. A second sister,

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

, widow of

Canute V of Denmark Canute V Magnussen () ( – 9 August 1157) was a King of Denmark from 1146 to 1157, as co-regent in shifting alliances with Sweyn III and Valdemar I. Canute was killed at the so-called ''Bloodfeast of Roskilde'' in 1157. Nothing certain is know ...

, entered Vreta as a nun after her husband's death in 1157, and other members of the Swedish and Danish royal families were also here. In the 13th century, the Swedish princess

Helena Sverkersdotter Helen of Sweden ( 1190 – 1247, Swedish: ''Helena'') was a Swedish princess and daughter of King Sverker II of Sweden. She was the mother of Queen Catherine of Sweden. She was later Abbess of Vreta Abbey. Biography Helen was born in Denma ...

were among its abbesses. It was a prestigious establishment, and the church is the burial place of the kings

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

and Magnus II, and the 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 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.see

Maiden Abduction from Vreta The three abductions of maidens from the Vreta convent was a series of events that took place in Sweden in the 13th century. They became legendary and inspired many poems. Background The abduction of maidens for wives seems to have been an an ...

Vreta was the mother house of

Askeby Abbey Askeby Abbey (Swedish: Askeby kloster) was a Cistercian nunnery in operation from the late 12th century until 1529. It was located in Askeby outside Linköping, Sweden. History Askeby Abbey was founded as a daughter convent of the Vreta Abbey ...

near

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

Riseberga Abbey Riseberga Abbey (), was a Cistercian nunnery in Sweden, in operation from circa 1180 until 1534. It was located near Fjugesta in Närke. It had the right to appoint the vicar of the Edsberg parish, which was under the jurisdiction of the abbey. ...

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 ...

and

Solberga Abbey Solberga Abbey (Swedish: Solberga kloster), 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 on the island of Gotland. ...

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

Dissolution

As a result of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

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. Vreta Abby received the nuns from the former Askeby Abbey and

Skänninge Abbey Skänninge Abbey, also known as St. Ingrid's Priory, was a convent for Dominican nuns in Skänninge in Sweden which existed from 1272 until 1544. It was founded by Ingrid of Skänninge, and as such, it was often referred to as St. Ingrid's Prior ...

when they were closed in 1529 and 1544 respectively. In 1536,

Gustav I Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...

gave the abbey and its assets to his Catholic mother-in-law

Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa ( – 21 November 1549) was a Swedish noblewoman. She was the mother of Queen Margaret Leijonhufvud and the second cousin and mother-in-law of King Gustav Vasa. Life Ebba was the daughter of the nobles ''riksråd'' Erik Kar ...

; she 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 The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

Site and buildings

The church continued in use as a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

parish church and still stands today, distinguished by its possession of a medieval

hagioscope A hagioscope () or squint is an architecture, architectural term denoting a small splayed opening or tunnel at seated eye-level, through an internal masonry dividing wall of a church in an oblique direction (south-east or north-east), giving wo ...

. 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 A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

were used to build the tower of

Linköping Cathedral Linköping Cathedral () is an active Lutheran church (building), church in the Swedish city of Linköping, the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Linköping in the Church of Sweden. One of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Scandinavia, it is situat ...

Abbesses

The abbesses are only partially known. * Princess Ingegerd Sverkersdotter of Sweden (1164-1204) * Cecilia (mentioned in 1216–1222) * Katarina (mentioned in 1248) * Katarina Svantepolksdotter, died 1329, (mentioned in 1289–1323; referred to as the 7th abbess) *

Ingrid Svantepolksdotter Ingrid Svantepolksdotter (floruit 1350), was a Swedish noble and abbess. She is foremost known for being the central figure in one of the famous incidents referred to as the Maiden Abduction from Vreta, where she, like her mother before her, was ab ...

, sister of the above (mentioned in 1323–1344) * Kristina Karlsdotter (1344-1350) * Ingrid (mentioned in 1366) * Cecilia (mentioned in 1381) * Margareta "Märeta" (1393-1399) * Elin Bruddadotter (mentioned in 1413–1417) * Ingegerd (mentioned in 1444–1446) * Elin Nilsdotter (mentioned in 1465) * Ramborg (mentioned in 1474) * Kristina (mentioned in 1486) * Sigrid Botholfsdotter (1513-1538)

Gallery

Image:Vreta kloster restorated walls.jpg, Restored walls Image:Vreta kloster dormitorium.jpg, Restoration: day room and chapter room Image:Vreta kloster dormitorium2.jpg, Restoration: day room with stairs to dormitory Image:Vreta_kloster_restorated_walls2.jpg, Restored walls

Notes

References

Riksantikvarieämbetet: Vreta kloster 2006

Se er om i Vreta kloster! (images)

Föreningen ''Klosterliv i Vreta''

*Sixten Dahlquist: ''Ett kyrkligt och kulturellt centrum'', Vreta klosters hembygdsförening, 1956, *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, *Gustaf-Adolf Andræ: ''Det hände i klostret - År och människor vid klostret i Vreta'', Noteria förlag, Klockrike, 1981, 1998, *Dick Harrison: ''Jarlens sekel'', Ordfronts förlag, Stockholm 2002, *Föreningen klosterliv i Vreta: ''Klosterliv i Vreta - Förhistoria, andligt liv, daglig strävan, klostrets byggnader, nunnor och annat folk'', LTAB, Linköping, 2003 (2:a uppl.), *Markus Lindberg: ''Vreta - kloster, kyrka och gravplats'' from: ''kulten – makten - människan'', ''Meddelanden från Östergötlands länsmuseum 2004'', *Signum svenska kulturhistoria:''Renässansen'' (2005) {{Authority control Cistercian nunneries in Sweden 12th-century establishments in Sweden 1100s establishments in Europe Benedictine nunneries in Sweden Christian monasteries established in the 1100s 1582 disestablishments in Europe 16th-century disestablishments in Sweden Medieval history of Sweden Monasteries dissolved under the Swedish Reformation Burial sites of Swedish royal houses Burial sites of the House of Estridsen Burial sites of the House of Stenkil Linköping Municipality Buildings and structures in Östergötland County