St. Olav's Abbey, Tønsberg ( no, Olavsklosteret i Tønsberg) was a

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

monastery, located in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

History

The

canons founded the monastery, dedicated to

Saint Olav Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...

, in Tønsberg in the second half of the 12th century, possibly in or shortly before 1191. The church was completed by 1207, as is confirmed by the record of a burial there in that year. This was a very wealthy establishment with considerable influence in the affairs of its time. It was nevertheless unable to resist secularisation in 1532 during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, when King Fredrik I granted it as a fief to Erik Ugerup. The monastic buildings were badly damaged by a fire in 1536, although possibly some may have been repaired to serve as the residence of the owner. The extensive estates later passed into the hands of the earls of

Jarlsberg Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's Vestfold county in Norway. The former countships of Jarlsberg and Larvik were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (''Jarlsberg og Larviks amt'') were renamed ...

Buildings

The church was extremely unusual in that it was round, the only round church in the province and one of the largest in the whole of Scandinavia. There may be some connection between the shape and the cult of Saint Olav, which was centred on his shrine in the octagonal chapel at the east end of

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...

. The nave had a diameter of about 23 metres. There was a round apse at the east end, with another round chamber - probably the sacristy - opening off it, and portals to the north, west and south. Archaeological excavations were carried out in 1877, 1929, 1963–67 and 1969–71. Although it seems clear that the conventual buildings were attached in some way to the church, it has not so far been possible to establish their exact layout. The burial ground must have been to the north and east of the church.

Site

The ruins of the round church are still to be seen at Storgaten 17 and 19, with some remains of conventual buildings to the south-east. Some have been incorporated into the structure of the Tønsberg Municipal Library.

Sources and references

Norges klostre i middelalderen: Olavsklosteret i Tønsberg

Abbey remains in Tønsberg Municipal Library

Vestfold-Minne 1971
* Johnsen, O. A., 1929-1934: ''Tønsbergs historie'', pp. 206–232. Oslo * Lunde, 0., 1971: ''Premonstratenserklosteret i Tønsberg St. Olavs kirke - Nordens største rundkirke. I: Vestfold-Minne'', pp. 68–85. {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Olav's Abbey, Tonsberg Christian monasteries in Norway Premonstratensian monasteries in Norway Tønsberg Buildings and structures in Vestfold og Telemark Tourist attractions in Vestfold og Telemark Monasteries dissolved under the Norwegian Reformation