Pirita Convent ( et, Pirita klooster) was a monastery for both

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s and

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s dedicated to St. Brigitta, located in the district of

Pirita Pirita is one of the eight administrative districts ( et, linnaosa) of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Pirita occupies a relatively big area, but compared to other districts of Tallinn its population of 17,592 (as of 1 November 2014) is relati ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. It functioned from 1407 to 1575. It was the largest convent in

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

, and one of the largest in Northern Europe.

History

The idea of founding the monastery dates to

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

s (H. Huxer, G. Kruse, H. Swalbart) of Tallinn of around 1400. In 1407, two monks from

Vadstena Abbey The Abbey Pax Mariae ( la, Monasterium sanctarum Mariæ Virgìnis et Brigidæ in Vatzstena), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Orde ...

arrived in Tallinn to counsel the merchants. The first permit to break

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

to gather

building material Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rock (geology), rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materia ...

for building the complex was acquired in 1417. The convent was constructed under the supervision of the architect Heinrich Swalbart. The main church of the monastery was consecrated on 15 August 1436 by the Bishop of Tallinn Heinrich II. Several of the merchants who had originally proposed the monastery later became its monks. During its heyday, Pirita Convent became the largest Catholic monastery in

. The decline of the convent started after the adoption of the Protestant Reformation in Estonia in 1525, although it was allowed to continue to function. During the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pre ...

in 1577, Pirita Convent was attacked by Russian troops under the leadership of

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

. They sacked the monastery, looted its riches and burned it down. Pirita Convent was abandoned since then, but local people used adjacent lands as a cemetery.

References

Sources

* "Pirita klooster AD MMI-MMXI." Toimetus: Ema Riccarda, Lagle Parek, Vello Salo, Ilmo Au. Illustreeritud. – Tallinn, Pirita klooster 2001. 80 lk.

External links

*

Convents of the Catholic Church in Europe Buildings and structures in Tallinn Gothic architecture in Estonia Ruins in Estonia Roman Catholic monasteries in Estonia Christian monasteries established in the 15th century Bridgettine monasteries Livonian Confederation Tourist attractions in Tallinn 1577 disestablishments {{Estonia-struct-stub

History

See also

References

Sources

External links