Alvastra () is a small village in
Ödeshög Municipality
Ödeshög Municipality (''Ödeshögs kommun'') is a municipality in Östergötland County, Sweden. The seat is situated in the small town of Ödeshög.
The coat of arms was created in 1972 at the time the modern municipalities of Sweden were crea ...
in eastern
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. It is known for being the seat of the
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, 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 ...
Alvastra Abbey
Alvastra Abbey (''Alvastra klosterruin'') was a Cistercian monastery located at Alvastra in Östergötland, Sweden.
History
Alvastra monastery was founded in 1143 by French monks who belonged to the Cistercian Order. A number of monks and lay br ...
in the Middle Ages, established in 1143 by French monks.
After the Swedish Lutheran reformation in the 1530s, the monastery was demolished, never to be rebuilt.
The Alvastra monastery ruin is today well preserved and popular place to visit.
See also
*
Alvastra pile-dwelling
{{coord, 58, 17, N, 14, 41, E, display=title
The Alvastra pile-dwelling (Swedish: ''Alvastra pålbyggnad'' or ''Alvastraboplatsen'') is a pile dwelling (also called a stilt house) from ca 3000 BC in Alvastra, Ödeshög Municipality, Östergötlan ...
References
Populated places in Östergötland County
{{Östergötland-geo-stub